Lewd, Loud, and Proud: Dudes Who Slam Poetry
June 30, 2008
Do you yawn at poetry? Does the idea of reading verse and meter make you want to curl up in a little ball and fall fast asleep? Well, you can forget about that nap because I’m about to show you how poetry can get your blood pounding, your fist pumping, and your belly heaving with snickers, giggles, and guffaws.
In recent centuries, we’ve come to view poetry as a written art form. But it wasn’t always so. Poetry is an oral tradition and in the last few decades there’s been an uprising among some very hammy poets who’ve taken to the stage and declared slam the next great literary movement.
They are writers and performers. Artists and visionaries. Comedians, philosophers, and nerds. They give good voice. They are lewd, loud, and proud. These are the men of slam poetry.
Taylor Mali
photo credit: BrodieAdler
Taylor Mali is one of the first slam poets I discovered and I was hooked immediately. He’s a brilliant and relevant writer, and his delivery is impeccable. Some slam poets take the performance aspect way over the top while others just mutter their poems without any flair at all. Taylor’s work is absolute perfection, which is why this man has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary poets.
You don’t read Taylor’s poems and you don’t listen to them either. You experience them. The first time I heard him reading What Teachers Make, he had me hollering “Yeah! Take that!” I had never realized that poetry could get me so riled up.
Taylor often explores teaching and education in his work. Like Lilly Like Wilson is another gem that had me grinning and nodding along. Is it a true story? Fiction? I was so inspired by this poem I actually created a character named Lily Wilson and now I have no idea what to do with her. I don’t even know if she’s legal.
It’s not all about education! See if Taylor doesn’t seduce you just a little bit with Giving Good Voice. This piece is surprising, witty, and may as well be the slam anthem for lovers.
Do yourself a favor and learn more about Taylor and his work at taylormali.com.
Shappy Seasholtz
Remember when I said some of these guys take the performance aspect a little over the top? Uncle Shappy leans that way. Nevertheless, he always makes me laugh. Yes, poetry can be funny. It can also be political. But how often have you heard a poem that was both funny and political? Shappy pulls it off with All American A-hole.
Now, we’re all pretty Internet savvy and I know some of you are big old geeks just like me. If you’re a Star Wars fan, let me hear you say ho-oh! You know you want to say it. I can recite Yoda. Why? Because I Am That Nerd.
Check out uncleshappy.com, where you’ll also find a link to Shappy’s girlfriend, slam poet pioneer Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz. She’s currently battling Taylor Mali for the top spot on my favorite poets list. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll hear more about her from me. But we’re talking about the dudes today.
Mayhem Poets
These guys are going to blow your freaking mind. I would even go so far as to say that if you hate poetry, these guys might change your mind. James Chartrand, I am talking to YOU! You can tell me how you don’t like podcasts and poetry until human beings start morphing into wild animals. But you can’t listen to Femail and tell me you don’t like it. A lot. Check it out and have a laugh. It’s on me.
If poetry is magic, these guys are sort of like the arch wizards. You just know they were first in line when Mother Nature was handing out muses. Martin Luther Queen is another captivating example of their lyrical talent. These guys got skill, straight up.
Get all the dirt on these four fine fellows at mayhempoets.com. And do note that they are easy on the eyes as well as the ears.
I Love Mongo
Mongo is THE MAN! He’s the emcee for IndieFeed Performance Poetry and I LOVE Mongo! If it weren’t for him, I would know next to nothing about slam poetry and I’d have no idea that when I travel to New York (if I ever get the chance), my first order of business will be to visit The Bowery Poetry Club. I am filled with gushing gratitude to Mongo for all the hard work he does so that folks like me can become slam addicts. Mongo, you rock!
Be sure to visit the IndieFeed site, which features a list of all the poets and links to the full audio of each performance that has been featured on the podcast. You can also subscribe via iTunes. I do.
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Devilish, Daring, and Demure: Meet the Hottest Women in Poetry
May 7, 2008
Poetry month came and went. I never had a chance to reveal my favorite poets and poems. That’s because every time I sat down to review my poetry collections and choose a few faves, it looked like I was going to write something that resembled a book rather than a blog post. Finally, I narrowed it down to a manageable number. We’re going to start by taking a look at three poetry queens and in a couple of weeks I will reveal the kings.
Aphra Behn
She lived during the 1600s so you might assume she was a prim and proper lady who did whatever her husband or the king told her. You would be wrong. Aphra broke all the rules and her ability to shock and surprise lives on pretty vividly in her poetry.
During a time when the few women who wrote poetry were upper class and did so as a hobby, Aphra established herself as Britain’s first professional woman writer. Ladies, take note, because Virginia Woolf said, “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”
I can’t say I agree with Virginia one hundred percent (isn’t that a natural right rather than an earned one?), but Aphra, even after over 300 years, definitely stands out in the crowd of historical writers. Not only because she was a spy, a playwright, and the first paid female writer, she was also deliciously dirty and wrote poems that were blatantly erotic and peppered with humor. Of her, Anne Finch said, “a little too loosely she writ.” We like that in a seventeenth century chick.
Selected reading (i.e. my favorites): The Willing Mistress, The Disappointment, The Libertine
If you don’t crack a sly grin at the end of each of these poems… well… read them again!
Emily Dickinson
Who hasn’t heard of Emily Dickinson? Before J.K. Rowling wowed the world with Harry Potter, Miss Dickinson was the most famous woman writer to have ever lived. And not just because she wrote great poetry.
Emily bucked the social expectations of her time by never marrying and becoming an eccentric agoraphobic who always dressed in white. Despite her odd ways, she was much beloved and known around town as the Amherst Myth.
Emily was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts during the 1800s and it was clear by the time Emily became an adult that she was marching to the beat of a different drum, which is why many people are surprised to learn she had an extremely normal childhood and grew up in a happy, affluent family. In fact, her father was a lawyer and politician. Yet Emily gave up a life of normalcy to pursue her one and only love: poetry.
She locked herself away from the Victorian world whose expectations she rebuffed and threw herself into books and writing. Not much is known about her love life or whether she had one but one thing is certain: Emily Dickinson was wracked with unparalleled literary intensity.
The majority of her poems were found after her death, untitled but neatly written and bound. They are usually numbered or indicated by their first lines. Emily Dickinson is also a poet whose biography and poetry play well off each other, building a special mystery that will draw you in wondering who this enigmatic woman really was.
Selected reading: (271) A solemn thing, (288) I’m Nobody!, (384) No Rack can torture me, (441) This is my letter to the World, (569) I reckon — when I count at all, (712) Because I could not stop for Death
There’s a lot of Dickinson poems to explore. This is a very small portion of what she left us. Most of these are short, quick reads.
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker is probably the writer most loved by dress-wearing feminists. She was cool, dry, and witty beyond measure. She put her own flaws under a magnifying glass and wrote about them, letting the world laugh at her but there’s a sense that somewhere inside, Dorothy Parker was not laughing.
She is the woman who smiles and nods niceties while whispering obscene comic insults against all of society under her breath. I imagine when she cast her eyes over a person, she saw beyond the visible and I’d bet she could give a look that made anyone on the receiving end feel uncomfortably naked.
Dorothy catapulted to fame during the 1920s and 1930s after she coined “Brevity is the soul of lingerie” for an ad. Her job? To write photograph captions for Vogue. After that, she went to work for Vanity Fair. She was also a prominent member of the Algonquin Hotel’s Round Table, which means she was in with the in crowd. She also helped shape the New Yorker, which is no small accomplishment and doesn’t look too bad on anyone’s resume, even these days.
Like many writers, Dorothy experienced turbulence in life. She married bisexual writer, Alan Campbell, with whom she had several breakups and reconciliations. After an abortion in 1923, she attempted suicide (the first attempt of many). She and Campbell earned over $5000 a week in Hollywood at one time (that was a lot of money in those days) and were later blacklisted as communists during the McCarthy era.
Her poetry is delightfully wit-tickling and her quotes are unforgettable (men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses). Though much of her work expresses a particular sense of self-dissatisfaction, it’s clear that Dorothy Parker’s dissatisfaction went beyond self and extended to all of humanity, especially the gents. However, she delivered it with language that smirks and smarts and satisfies.
Selected Reading: Comment, Interview, Resumé
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Now it’s your turn. Who are your favorite ladies of poetry? What attracts you to a poem or poet? Obviously, I’m drawn to the rebels, the rule-breakers, and the eccentrics. Do you prefer women writers over male writers or does it matter? Take a look at your book or poetry collection and see if it’s gender balanced.
Sources: The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English
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Poetry Resources
April 30, 2008
You all know by now what a huge advocate I am for collecting writing resources. When it comes to poetry, there are some special books that will help make you both a better reader and a more well-rounded writer.
Keep in mind that reading and writing poetry require two similar but different skill sets. Some academic types argue that poetry is an intellectual pursuit but that’s hogwash. Poetry is an aesthetic art that uses emotion for paint and language as a canvas. Anyone can appreciate poetry, but studying it on higher levels can help you better appreciate its nuances.
The same is true with poetry writing. Nobody can stop you from sitting down and writing a poem. It will be just as meaningful if it comes straight from your heart as if it comes from years of study. However, observation of poetic technique can bring poetry to unimagined levels. It’s also helpful if your objective is to have your poetry published in print or on any high quality website that features poetry.
I was resistant to reading and studying poetry in school because I wrote it so frequently on my own. But once I gave in and signed up for the courses, my poetry started to blossom in ways I never could have foreseen. Classes, however, aren’t necessary (though they are definitely beneficial if you get a good instructor). A few good books on poetry writing can whittle your skills considerably.
Here are a few of my favorite books on poetry.
Something that is essential can’t be taught; it can only be given, or earned, or formulated in a manner too mysterious to be picked apart… Whatever can’t be taught, there is a great deal that can, and must, be learned.
The Practice of Poetry
Perhaps my all time favorite and definitely my most referenced poetry book is Perrine’s Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry
Speaking of anthologies, I would be remiss if I didn’t close this post by mentioning that anthologies along with literary journals are the best way to start discovering poets and poems that you’ll love. These types of compilations give you a taste for many different styles and genres within poetry. My own favorite is The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Traditions in English
Enjoy!
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