KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyler Korso is not your everyday poet. In fact, during the day, he works as an illusionist, a circus performer and even a comedian.
As you can imagine, this jack of all trades uses his job as an entertainer to enhance his poetry, but it's not all fun and games.
"I tackle all topics from racial situations to topics on religion," said Korso. "When something stands out to me, I usually find myself writing about it, being a little tongue and cheek."
Korso says his comedy helps blend how he presents his poetry and that the key is to make it digestible and palatable for the audience.
Warning: This video contains some explicit language
Korso started writing poetry in high school but says he kept it to himself. Eventually, the desire fizzled out until he came across the For The Win poetry slam about two years ago.
"I competed that night and it was a blast. I just haven't stopped showing up," Korso said.
Now, the fire eating, juggler is part of a slam team in Kansas City that competes nationally.
He says his goal is to help people understand differing opinions and encourage them to really get to what the issues are.
"I think poetry is a really big step towards communication. It's not just about communicating with the audience. It's what do you want to be able to communicate with yourself," Korso said. "You'll see poets go up there and release a burden from themselves on stage."
You can catch Korso at the Uptown Arts Bar, where he regularly competes in slams.
To learn more about Korso, head to his Facebook page.
