ARTiculation: Slam poetry. Waving my hands a lot. Yelling.
It is a beautiful thing to get lost in a story. It is a gift for a writer to have written a piece of work that envelops you. What’s equally as precious for the writer is you receiving it. For him to have his work read, experienced.
A work of art is still a work of art if nobody sees it but having an audience brings a whole new element to the piece. “The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy!” wrote Allen Ginsberg in a footnote about his famed poem Howl.
Classical poetry is known for its demure traditions. Whenever I think about poetry readings, I imagine a bunch of men in tweed blazers and women in black turtlenecks with their eyes closed, gently nodding every so often when a line is particularly profound.
I always thought it was funny contradiction: poets are known to be driven by emotion and zeal, but when they read their work it’s as dry as… dry toast – I am not a poet.
Poet Marc Smith thought the same. Akin to the 19th-century Impressionism movement in its countercultural perspective, he thought poetry readings should be infused with the passion that the writer’s wrote the pieces with. So in Chicago at an open mic night in 1984, Smith began performing his pieces.
The idea quickly gained momentum and before long, what had by then been named poetry slam were being held around the country.
Poetry slam is a competition where poets recite a dramatic reading of their written works. When I say dramatic reading, I think you likely default to the image of a man holding a book, looking through his bifocals, a slow tearing rolling down his face. It is much, much more energetic than that.
Some of the poems are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are angry, but all of them help the audience understand what the author felt when they were writing it.
In a culture where being busy is celebrated, it’s important to acknowledge that we’re not often encouraged to share how we feel with others. Even in the relatively small culture we have here at Fanshawe College, people are looking for a place to share.
At the Yellow Umbrella Project campaign the FSU hosted a while ago, participants were encouraged to write something that was weighing them down on a balloon and then release it into the air. It got excellent response.
Especially in a learning environment like our school, where people are stressed and the stakes are high, we need an outlet. Poetry slams offer a safe, non-judgmental place to speak your truth about your life.
We have a culture of slammers here in town. The group is called the London Poetry Slam (LPS) and it is amazing. LPS came to campus on November 5 and hosted an evening of poetry. Social media lit up in response, with people discussing how much it resonated with them to have a place to share their stories and even inquiring if they can start a group at the school.
LPS also hosts a monthly event – usually at London Music Club – where anybody can walk in, sign up and share his/her work. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to perform yet, you can attend, have a beer and listen to the stories of your fellow Londoners.
To learn more about Poetry Slams in general, befriend the Internet and Google your heart out. There are thousands of amazing slammers out there sharing their work on social media. And to know more about London’s slammers, check out londonpoetryslam.ca.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
A work of art is still a work of art if nobody sees it but having an audience brings a whole new element to the piece. “The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy!” wrote Allen Ginsberg in a footnote about his famed poem Howl.
Classical poetry is known for its demure traditions. Whenever I think about poetry readings, I imagine a bunch of men in tweed blazers and women in black turtlenecks with their eyes closed, gently nodding every so often when a line is particularly profound.
I always thought it was funny contradiction: poets are known to be driven by emotion and zeal, but when they read their work it’s as dry as… dry toast – I am not a poet.
Poet Marc Smith thought the same. Akin to the 19th-century Impressionism movement in its countercultural perspective, he thought poetry readings should be infused with the passion that the writer’s wrote the pieces with. So in Chicago at an open mic night in 1984, Smith began performing his pieces.
The idea quickly gained momentum and before long, what had by then been named poetry slam were being held around the country.
Poetry slam is a competition where poets recite a dramatic reading of their written works. When I say dramatic reading, I think you likely default to the image of a man holding a book, looking through his bifocals, a slow tearing rolling down his face. It is much, much more energetic than that.
Some of the poems are funny, some are heartbreaking, some are angry, but all of them help the audience understand what the author felt when they were writing it.
In a culture where being busy is celebrated, it’s important to acknowledge that we’re not often encouraged to share how we feel with others. Even in the relatively small culture we have here at Fanshawe College, people are looking for a place to share.
At the Yellow Umbrella Project campaign the FSU hosted a while ago, participants were encouraged to write something that was weighing them down on a balloon and then release it into the air. It got excellent response.
Especially in a learning environment like our school, where people are stressed and the stakes are high, we need an outlet. Poetry slams offer a safe, non-judgmental place to speak your truth about your life.
We have a culture of slammers here in town. The group is called the London Poetry Slam (LPS) and it is amazing. LPS came to campus on November 5 and hosted an evening of poetry. Social media lit up in response, with people discussing how much it resonated with them to have a place to share their stories and even inquiring if they can start a group at the school.
LPS also hosts a monthly event – usually at London Music Club – where anybody can walk in, sign up and share his/her work. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to perform yet, you can attend, have a beer and listen to the stories of your fellow Londoners.
To learn more about Poetry Slams in general, befriend the Internet and Google your heart out. There are thousands of amazing slammers out there sharing their work on social media. And to know more about London’s slammers, check out londonpoetryslam.ca.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
