Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Gurley.
Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I came up in East Palo Alto, California, raised in the heart of the silicon valley in the bay area. My family has large roots. I am one of seven myself. I started writing when I was about 14 as a way to release my feelings and express myself.
It wasn’t until I moved to grad school that I actually started performing my poetry in front of people. Once I did hit a stage, I loved it, and have never stopped.
My poetry career really was planted in California, but it really blossomed and flourished after I moved to Dallas in 2011. I quickly gravitated to the poetry scene here and have been nonstop ever since. I have grown apart of a great community and collective of people and have made not just friends but family I lean on.
I have seen some highs and lows with the art. I have toured different venues and the college scene. I have won some competitions and shared stages with notable people like R & B singer Noel Gourdin and actress Irma P. Hall,
I placed top 10 in the Women of the World Poetry Slam and have earned 2nd place in the National Civil Rights Museum Drop the Mic Slam.
I am an artist in every sense of the word and am so excited at what the future holds for my artistry.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has certainly not been easy but I am able to tough it out. I have worked my way up from doing shows for free to being booked for $1000-$2000. With that said, I have really taken the time to develop my brand, to build my website, be coached, read/listen to others work, accept critique, and get feedback. I have grown myself in this field to get to where I am. I would say that I am successful but there are still peaks and valleys. None of this is all on a high.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Alex Tha Great is my performance name. Great is an acronym for Given Real Encouragement Amongst Turmoil, just a reminder to myself that even though I go through trials I am covered and protected by God to overcome. I am a spoken word artist, a playwright, speaker, and an actress.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood would probably have to be my sisters and I staying up all night on Christmas eve watching cartoons to stay awake and just staring at all the gifts under the tree until one of our parents finally woke up and we were able to open them.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexthagreat.com
- Email: onegreatpoet@yahoo.com
- Instagram: followthagreat
- Twitter: alexthagreat1
Image Credit:
KatMac Photos, Cher Musico Photography, and Gabreal Lyrix
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
