"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

Saturday, August 2, 2008

July 27, 2008 - Sunday

The Den was quite tonight. Kyle was reading when I arrived. He said that he was using the open mic to test out a few new slam pieces, which he read from his paper. His first explored the question of “what if God danced?”. The second detailed how he wished he were a big, black woman. In continued to wonder about how his life would be if he were an archer. “But I’m a skinny kid”, and he tells how he can be a feather in a relationship and a brick in a conflict, how he wants to result himself.

Ryan read next. The first poem was about money, and Ryan read with a loud, aggressive voice. “Money can’t by happness, but it sure can buy happiness at the Gentleman’s club,” he said. He made an analogy relating New York to Delaware as a banker is to a debt collector. He continued by delivering the piece about how his fathe is a navy man and a hypocrite. “Nah, you never killed nobody. What you did was worse” he said. “Your way isn’t working. It hasn’t worked forever”, he says, calling for a change of our national view with respect to war and the military.

The next poet was a fellow named Elijah. He read while wearing sunglasses and reading from a paper. His voice was low and hard to make out, and he prefaced the poem with a description of how he was in a relationship and it left him depressed.

Liz Bowen featured at the Den, as she had at Jibber Jabber. Her first poem was hilarious, an extended love poem to a number of serial killers. “Dear Charles Manson,” she opened. She’d been told that her lover would demonstrate “leadership, determination, and homicidal qualities”, so she was now seeking love from “Charlie” and a number of others.

“Dear Zodiac Killer, what’s your sign? I’m a Capricorn”

she proclaims. She continues to tell how she really doesn’t want to be killed, but is always drawn to the wrong man. Playful and fun, I really enjoyed this piece.

The next poem was the honor killing pem, and then the one about telling her grandparents about her bi-racial boyfriend. She then delivered the abortion poem and the poem about missing Baltimore, concluding with the poem about abused women. Except for the serial killer piece, all of these are detailed in the last post. The poems were just as powerful and wonderful to hear the second time around.

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