Slam poetry has always been something that I've wanted to work towards as a poet, yet I never had confidence to give it a go.
That all changed this past weekend at the Byron Writers Festival. I took part in a slam poetry workshop, taught by Zohab Khan and put together by Miles Merrill and Word Travels. I found techniques I loved using and felt confident with, and a subject I felt passion in me when I spoke.
Only a few hours and a few drafts after writing my poem "Play The Game", I was the twelfth poet onstage performing and slamming for the very first time. My nerves were everywhere and I could feel my body swaying as I spoke. But golly gee it was so carthartic and such a buzz to have performed my own words for over 50 people.
Slam extraordinaires Miles Merrill, Zohab Khan and Arielle Cottingham showcased their brilliance between the other poets and myself. Speaking to Arielle, Miles and Zohab afterwards, my confidence was boosted once more to follow slam and try try try again.
The next day, I visited The Rails for the 25th anniversary of Poets at the Rails. Arielle was a guest performer and encouraged me to enter into the open mic.
"Do your new shit!" she cheered, a cheeky smile on her face.
So there I was, performing a new piece in a new environment to a new crowd. It's addictive, and every time I chant my patterned words, I can't wait to do more.
So here are my goals:
- get off paper
- involve my whole self in the poem
- don't stop
So fingers crossed you'll see more of my slams in the months to come. If you want to see my slam from Sunday at The Rails, click here.
xxmk
