"The HEAD, by way of the EAR, to the SYLLABLE
The HEART, by way of the BREATH, to the LINE”
- Charles Olson


Welcome to my poetry research blog! Here's a little background...

Poetry is, at its heart, a very acoustic phenomenon. Distinguished from prose through its emphasis on the use of sound, namely its distinctive rhythms, meters, and rhyme scheme, the earliest known poetry followed the oral tradition. Among the most famous examples of early poetry are Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” which were transmitted by word of mouth for centuries.

Following the spread of literacy, poetry increasingly became a written form. Though the play of sounds and rhythms were still very important, and though poets gained the ability to use the visual presentation of their poems to shape the meaning of their work, poetry lost much of its performance aspect. However, during the twentieth century, there was a poetic movement that began re-emphasizing the importance of sound and performance in poetry.

This blog will track my research into the developments in performance poetry in the modern United States. My principal focus will be on poetry slams, but I will be investigating all forms of performance poetry. I’m taking a multi-media approach to this research: not only will I be using articles and books, I will also be watching videos, youtube clips, and, most importantly, attending actual Slams. I’m especially excited for the National Poetry Slam in August.

Specifically, here you will find a record of the performance events that I have and intend to attend.

“Sometimes a good slam strategy is to give the audience something they didn’t know they needed until they’ve heard it. Sometimes it’s aesthetic deduction, sometimes it’s angelic inspiration, but it’s always being true to yourself, your teammates, your muse, and your art."
-- Daniel S. Solis

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

August 8, 2008 - Lyrics on the Lake Workshops

During the day, there were numerous workshops, performances, and panel discussions from Wednesday to Friday. Topics ranged from open mics to discussions of the classics, politics, managing depression, children’s literature, publishing your own works, and healing through writing. Especially notable events included the Nerd Slam (see previous post), the discussion on “Teaching Spoken Word in the Classroom”, and the sign language slam.

The Lake

Because I didn’t arrive until Thursday, I missed the events earlier in the week. However, I very much enjoyed the Nerd Slam. After the SlamMasters’ meeting, I also made it to one of the “Writing Circle” events and the “Stage Coach”. At the “Writing Circle”, we were given a prompt and allowed ten minutes to compose. After the allotted time was up, poets from a vast array of teams read the product of their ten minutes. Most had chosen to reject the given prompt (the National Poetry Slam) and write about a topic more to their interests. My favorite line from this event was “artists are like fireflies in June” because it captured the beautiful yet ephemeral nature of performance poetry. The National Slam is a huge event, and the poets had been preparing for months. However, a few days later, you would not be able to tell they had been in Madison. Part of the beauty and part of the tragedy, the short lifespan of slam poems does not matter if the works achieve the goal of opening hearts and minds, of starting a discussion regarding important issues in our country and for ourselves as individuals and humans.

The “Stage Coach” performance workshop was particularly enjoyable. Four slam poets – Alvin from Chicago, Charles from the Bay Area, Sharon from Memphis, and Mona from San Francisco – critiqued the presentation of the first thirty seconds of the work of numerous poets. They stressed the importance of body language, of commanding the stage and having a confident demeanor, though this may be tempered to suit the performance. They encouraged the use of the full vocal range and facial expression. They also suggested gesturing to the side rather than the front to create a bigger profile. Finally, more with respect to content than presentation, the coaches warned that a poem should explain itself rather than relying on the title to do so. This is especially true of slam, in which the title is rarely given.

Ultimately, I enjoyed these workshops very much. I learned a good deal, and I even left a little inspired.

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