The Twin Poets Return to Atlantic Cape with Their Powerful Poetic Prose and Spoken Word Presentation

MAYS LANDING — To the Twin Poets, brothers Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Albert Mills, their words are a lens into the strong history of a tight familial bond, of overcoming the trials and tribulations of youth, of faith, failure and redemption, and, most importantly, of celebrating life and love.

As part of Atlantic Cape Community College’s continued Black History Month programming, the Twin Poets, known for their advocacy of poetry as a tool to positively transform the minds of young and old alike, performed their inspirational form of the spoken word, which combines the allure of rhyme, meter and prose with stage performance, in the Student Center at the Mays Landing campus on Thursday, February 8.

The Twin Poets are a powerful literary duo who harness their love for the written and spoken word with their dedication to service in the community, to their families and country. That dedication resonates with each word that encompasses their from-the-heart poetry, which manifests itself in a way that human emotions can only express.

“It’s a unique thing that each individual, especially writers, have where you bring up something that is inside of you. You can try to imitate, mimic, copy or clone, but there is nothing like it,” said Chukwuocha, who is a Delaware State 1st District Representative, community-based social worker, U.S. Army veteran and professor at Delaware State University. “So, when you think of the written word and taking what is inside of you and being able to share that with another human being, nothing can take that soul and that spirit that is inside of us.”

The Twin Poets find their poetic inspiration in the life lessons and positive messaging that they seek to impart on the children that they work with, mentor, raise and live with in their community.

“Like many cities, in our City of Wilmington, DE, there is a lot of gun violence. I tend to write a lot of their stories and unfortunately a lot of them are obituary poems about the ones who get lost,” said Mills, who is a therapist, tutor, mentor, Iraq war veteran and, along with his brother, co-founder of G.O.A.L.S. (Getting Organized Always Leads to Success), a tutoring and mentoring program. “But, every now and then, you get that gem, a kid who never gets in trouble again, goes and graduates college and opens his own business. Those are the stories and lessons that I try to capture in my words.”

Ultimately, Chukwuocha and Mills hope that their words will make an impact on the lives of the children in their community by showing them that there is a roadmap out of the perpetual cycle of violence and that education is the engine that can power their way to a better life. They understand that children face many challenges today, but the Twin Poets truly believe that the way forward is through love, selfless deeds and impactful words.

“We remain hopeful. The solutions are inside our children, so we speak to them and encourage the adults and caregivers just to provide support,” Chukwuocha said. “We are not asking you to do everything, but just do something to show them support. That is the main thing in our poetry, to use this art as a tool for transformation.”

Named the 17th Poets Laureate for the State of Delaware in 2015, the Twin Poets have more than two decades of poetic experience, which they use to highlight their insightful performances that address topics, such as interpersonal violence, bullying and the ideals of masculinity to this free public event. On this night, they shared material from their newly-curated project titled United Sounds: Rooted in the Challenges and Opportunities of the African American Experience. The first 25 currently-enrolled Atlantic Cape students received a free copy of the Twin Poets’ most recent book, “Our Work, Our Words.”

Click here to view a Flickr photo gallery from this event. Check out additional upcoming Black History Month events at Atlantic Cape’s three campuses.

Visit twinpoets.org to learn more about the Twin Poets.

About Atlantic Cape Community College

Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 33 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with several four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree without having to leave home.