ARTSETC.
3rd annual Poetry Slam ushers in notable guests
Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.
Also by Alec Luhn:
Related Stories:
- Poetry slam events impact campus (November 18, 2004)
- Saul Williams set to teach, perform this weekend (March 7, 2002)
- Small publisher finds success between lines (January 19, 2005)
- Fest to present best of Midwest (December 6, 2007)
by Alec Luhn
Friday, October 14, 2005
For the average undergrad, "poetry" brings to mind never-ending class periods in high school English. This weekend's third annual Madison Poetry Slam hopes to change that by bringing together poets from across the Midwest for what may be the biggest slam in Madison history.
"This year is going to prove to be the biggest and most collaborative yet," said Katrina Flores of the MultiCultural Student Coalition, which is sponsoring the event. "This year is going to be the one you don't want to miss."
Organizers are hoping for campus-wide attention for the slam, which has been "expanding big-time" over the past two years, according to Adam Robinson, Director of the Wisconsin Union Directorate Student Performance Committee.
"You definitely have a spoken-word community and a social-justice community that knows about this," Robinson said. "But we want campus-wide promotion and campus-wide attendance. The message is, 'The performers are out there, this art form exists.'"
The art form doesn't include sappy love poems being recited in front of a class. A poetry slam is "poetry in motion," according to event organizer Willie Ney.
"It's performance poetry … it's much more dynamic," Ney said. "There's call-and-response, interaction with the audience. It's competitive but it's not about competition."
"The poet's job is definitely to share poetry, but also to engage the audience," Flores added. "The judges are not pre-picked; they come from the audience. A lot of unknowns are involved, which makes it invigorating and exciting."
Instead of competition, the slam will emphasize the community and unity that comes out of a diverse group of voices. For Ney, the director of the new Youth Speaks office in Madison, it's all about bringing people together.
This slam features spoken-word poets from all over the Midwest. Teen poetry teams from Chicago, Minneapolis and Ann Arbor will compete, as well as UW-Madison students and Madison community members. They will be joined by nationally renowned poets Jessica Care Moore and Kalamu ya Salaam.
The multigenerational focus gives the slam its title — "Passing the Mic." Teenage competitors will be hearing performances by Salaam, who started out in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s. Ney hopes the value of free expression will be passed on to the youth.
"Free expression is a priority for youth, to be able to say what they want to say," Ney said. "It's important to hear those diverse voices."
To this effect, Ney and Youth Speaks will be taking spoken-word poets to area high schools on Thursday and Friday to perform at homecoming rallies.
The poetry slam competitors will then recite their original pieces at one of three simultaneous semi-finals Friday night. At each venue, five judges will be picked from the audience. Eventually, five poets from each Semi-final will advance to the Final round on Saturday night at the Wisconsin Union Theater, where one will be crowned champion.
The two featured poets, Moore and Salaam, will give special performances during the slam, as well as a workshop from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday in Gordon Commons.
Emcee and host Moore lives in New York City and is well known as a poet, activist, playwright, actor and writer. She's the five-time winner of the nationally televised "It's Showtime at the Apollo."
Salaam is a renowned New Orleans poet who has done everything from performance poetry to radio production. The slam will also serve as a tribute to him.
"He's one of the masses who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina," Ney explained. "We really wanted to do it as a tribute to him and all the people who suffered, especially the African-American community."
But slam organizers say they hope it will reach out to all communities, since spoken-word often discusses issues of cultural and generational divides. According to Robinson, spoken-word poetry "presents the conflicts of our nation in a different way than giving a speech."
"It's going to be one of the more important cultural events of the year," Ney said.
The semi-finals will be held at the King Club, Lussier Teen Center and Der Rathskeller Friday night at 8 p.m. The finals are the same time Saturday night at the Wisconsin Union Theater. Both events are free and open to the public. For additional information, go to www.mcscuw.com/poetryslam.htm.
"Come early," Ney advised, "because we're expecting a full house."
