Beginnings

It occured to me that many people have a vague idea of what I'm doing this year, but don't really understand how it fits into the broader frame of the world. Why study slam poetry? What the heck is slam poetry? Why should we care? Furthermore, a majority of people who know about my work don't quite understand why someone who devoted her studies to Psychology and Hispanic Studies would then decide to pack it all up and travel around the world studying slam poetry. Beginning this friday, a mere 5 days from now, I will begin a completely new chapter in my life, studying a form of poetry that's been around since the idea of language was formed. There have already been a few changes: I won't be going to South Africa as previously planned. In it's place, I will be travelling to Mexico, where the spoken word scene is just beginning to be established. With all these things said, here is a copy of my Bristol Fellowship proposal.


The Rhyme of Life:
Uncovering social, political and personal expression in slam poetry
A Bristol Fellowship Proposal
Jessica A. Mariglio

To understand a generation, read our poetry. Or rather, listen to it. Listen to our histories, our politics, our anger, our confusion, our joy, our frustration, and our stories. Spoken word poetry is born out of social injustice, political conflict and cultural assimilation; it uses personal experiences to comment on the current social and political climate. Unlike traditional poetry, spoken word is an uninhibited form of expression that literally speaks to the individual in raw, simple, colloquial language. I propose to study the art of competitive spoken word as it is used for social and political community building in England, Holland, South Africa, Canada, and Australia.


The terms hip-hop, spoken word, slam poetry and performance poetry are closely related, but they do not mean the same thing. Hip-hop is a musical and cultural movement that embodies five main forms: rap, graffiti, DJ, break dance and spoken word. Spoken word is poetry that is performed aloud and is typically synonymous with performance poetry. Slam poetry is a form of competitive spoken word or performance poetry. The rules of slam poetry are simple: poets must compete against each other using original works under 3 minutes to win the audience’s approval. Although poetry slams are a form of competition, the focus of the artist is not to win, but rather to make a connection with the audience. As the slam poetry mantra goes, “the points are not the point, the point is poetry.” The wonderful aspect of the competition is that it forces the poet to try to make the audience relate on a personal level. There is no time for pondering metaphors in a poetry slam. It is poetry for people who don’t get poetry. Therefore, a connection between the audience and the poet is imperative. Since their creation in 1985, poetry slams have spread all over the world.


Spoken word, specifically slam poetry, is both a symptom of globalization and a long-standing tradition of competitive oral poetry. It is clearly a “western” concept, heavily influenced by American hip-hop culture, immigration and assimilation. At the same time, the concept of a poetry slam has its roots in ancient traditions of competitive poetry that can be traced all over the world, from the Greek myths of Apollo and Marsyas to the old Andalucían art of décimas to the American beat poets of the 1950s. No matter what the time, place or conditions of previous spoken word movements, the purpose has remained steadfast: to tell the story of a person, place or culture through the art of spoken poetry, and to create a unified community based around the ideas and values presented through the poetry.


I will approach this project interactively from multiple perspectives: artists, audience, festival coordinators, venue owners, academic supporters and critics. I aim to better understand the ways poetry patrons and lovers in each culture use spoken word as a way of building a community. Because spoken word poetry is best examined in a live setting, I will attend spoken word competitions and festivals and compile performances and interviews by means of video recording. I will spend time on university campuses with students and professors to examine the progression of spoken word in the university setting. It is also important to be aware of the criticism of this genre. Therefore, I will also spend time with critics in each country to get their perspective on spoken word as a modern form of poetry.


In each country and each setting, whether street corner, café, university, or festival, the cultural nuances will come from the poets, and also from the people who are dedicated to hearing the poetry. Integrating myself with audience members at poetry slams will allow me to grasp the full influence of the culture on slam. Audience members may not be poets themselves, but can appreciate the fact that the poets are giving voice to their issues and concerns. To be an audience member at a poetry slam is to be an active part of the slam. Interaction with audience members will give me the opportunity to experience the way poetry influences a culture, and not just the other way around.


Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Nova Scotia Canada, August-October, 2007
"The poet performs poetry by utilizing a tapestry of words which directly encompass the experiences, the struggles and joys of the people in the community- Oni the Haitian Sensation
The Canadian slam poetry scene demonstrates a comprehensive variety of style, poets and content. Each individual region of Canada has its own performance style, which is judged first at small local poetry slams, and then at larger, regional slams. The best poets from each of the regional competitions will move on to the Canadian Spoken World Olympic Festival, which takes place annually every fall. Although the event is open to Canadian artists only, many members of the international slam poetry movement participate as audience members to show their solidarity and support for the Canadian slam poetry community.
Canadian slam poetry is notorious for its excellence. Canadian slam poets are some of the most recognizable poets worldwide, due to their style, stage presence and content. I have made contact with Greg Frankson, who is the founder and president of Canada’s Capital Poetry Collective, a group of famous slam poets. While in Canada, I will travel to different regions to uncover the variety of different poets, audiences, venues, messages and styles of slam. I will finish my stay in Nova Scotia for the Canadian Spoken Word Olympic Festival.


Durban, Johanesburg, Capetown, South Africa October-December 2007
“I also believe that what makes your work successful is not the amount of words that you use; it is not the quality of words that you use; it is not the story that you tell, but the choice of words that you use in telling your story.”- Mzi Mahola

In South Africa, hip-hop culture is thriving. In addition to spoken-word, break dancing, DJing and graffiti art are all popular manifestations of the hip-hop culture in this country. The groups are not mutually exclusive, and often times genres are combined. Such is the case with poet/emcee/DJ/graffiti artist Ewok Baggends, and his cousin Pygmy, with whom I have made contact.

There are three main spheres for slam poetry in South Africa: Johannesburg, Capetown and Durban. Cape Town has the oldest hip-hop scene, which is both well established and funded because of the tourism industry. Johannesburg is the capitalist center of Africa. Therefore, hip-hop has taken a commercial spin. The most interesting city is Durban because its hip-hop scene has had very little exposure. There are two main locations for slam poetry in Durban: the university and the city. The type of poets, the themes in poetry, and the venues of the performances all vary depending in which sphere the performance is located. In addition, South Africa hosts an international poetry festival called Poetry Africa, including a slam poetry component that is also held annually in Durban. South Africa has a turbulent history and the subject matter of poets and emcees reflects this history, with many pieces on AIDs, oppression and struggle. I am interested in studying the way in which people combine the different forms of hip-hop to create a community of unity, tolerance and activism.


Sydney, Northern Territory, Australia December-February 2008
“I look around and see/too many Murriz sleeping on the streets/sniffing on paint, bottle in hand/ as a new generation we’ve got to take a stand… we’ve got to take a stand”- A.N.G.
The hip-hop movement has been criticized around the world for losing its community spirit and social activism. In Australia, however, spoken-word is a form of expression that takes people back to their roots. This is especially true to the indigenous people of Australia, who have faced decades of oppression, racism and violence. Youthful artists striving to make a dent in traditional Australian society dominate the Aboriginal hip-hop movement in the Northern Territory of Australia. The artists driving this movement are young, teenagers and young adults, and are attempting to break down the racial stereotypes of Aboriginal people and give indigenous kids a positive and alternative form of expression. This is a prime place to understand the ways in which spoken-word performances provide a sense of community.


The Northern Territory is not the only place where hip-hop is thriving. In cities in “white” Australia, such as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, competitive spoken word is alive and growing. Primarily a youth movement, it too stresses the importance of social activism and political education. Much more commercialized and mainstream, there are many formal and informal slam competitions present. In traveling to Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, I will initially work with Jess Cook, an event manager and public relations coordinator of “Token Imagination”, an organization that sponsors, organizes and advertises poetry slams and festivals. Through this contact, I hope to be involved in the inner workings of the slam scene in Australia.


London, England, March-April 2008
“The point of “slam poetry” if there is such a thing is not to fit in with some style or clique but to get poetry out to people who don't get poetry in any sense.”- John Paul O’Neill
London is one of the world’s most multicultural cities. Therefore, it is not surprising that it was the location of one of the first poetry slams in Europe. The United Kingdom’s involvement in the Iraq war and the clear social protest that arises from this war are causes of a strong political-slam climate. Slam poetry is everywhere in London, ranging from small informal café performances to huge international competitions that fill arenas.


I have made contact with John Paul O’Neill a famous slam poet located in London, and MC of the popular Farrago Festival of Spoken Word. I plan to immerse myself in the slam poetry community. I will spend time with poets: what do professional slam poets do with their free time that informs their poetry? Do corporations sponsor them? How do they prepare for large slam events? Does the commercialization of slam poetry in fact change the poetry itself, or does it simply aid slam in its original mission: bringing poetry and political discourse back to the people? My main objective in London is to examine the way in which the commercialization of Slam poetry affects the poets who perform, what the poets are saying and the way they are saying it.


Amsterdam, Rotterdam The Netherlands. May-July, 2008
“First and foremost: Slam poetry must be poetry.”-Gijs ter Haar
Slam poetry competitions dominate the performance poetry culture in Amsterdam. It is on the brink of exploding from the underground culture to the mainstream. In Holland, people use slam poetry as a means of social protest and unification. Amsterdam has a worldwide reputation for its socially liberal and tolerant attitude. I will focus my project in Amsterdam on the way in which people use slam poetry as a form of unification and declaration of identity, as opposed to assimilation.
I have made contact with famed slam poet Gijs ter Haar who has offered to introduce me to the national slam poetry scene in The Netherlands. In addition, with the help of Cornelia Graebner- a PhD Candidate who studies performance poetry at the University of Amsterdam, I will examine the presence of slam and performance poetry in university culture. Because slam is still growing in popularity, I will attend local and regional competitions. I will investigate the different types of slam poets in Holland: why are they performing? What are they speaking about? Furthermore, I will attend poetry slams in cafes and theaters and examine the transformation of the poet’s message as the venues become more commercialized.
At the end of my stay in Holland, I will travel to Rotterdam to attend the Rotterdam World Slampionships. This slam competition is held annually in Rotterdam as a part of The Rotterdam International Poetry Festival and is considered the top venue for slam poets in the world. Though it is held primarily in English, the competition draws an unusual mix of voices, cultures and issues performed by the best international poets.

Inua Ellams, a young spoken word poet from Yemen, wrote me “ it is inevitable for [a movement] to spring up everywhere. Wherever there is a need for self expression and what needs to be said is not being said…wherever there is language and lungs: it will come.” This fellowship will allow me to study the slam poetry movement all over the world and confirm that it is, in fact, a form of art and community building. Spoken word poetry accomplishes the same goals that all art, to varying degrees, strives to accomplish. It brings people together to express different world views and through doing so, allows us to realize that beneath the cultural, political and social differences of each country rests a sentiment of basic humanity and an inherent need to be heard and understood.