 |
IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Open Mic: Express Yourself!
by Cindy Kuzma, 10.08.04
"I write about things that I think are important, stories that aren't getting told." |
|
"All the pain and sorrow in this world was caused by this one girl," says Angel, pointing to herself. There's a moment of silence in the room. Then she steps away from the microphone and the crowd bursts into applause.
Those are intense words. But Angel's not afraid to express herself here. Nor is Jeff, who later reads a letter to his mother about being gay. This is WordPlay, a weekly teen poetry workshop and open mic night in Chicago. Each person who takes the stage gets equal respect, and no one gets judged or censored.
Let It All Out!
Everyone who goes to WordPlay has a slightly different reason for being there. For many teens who perform poetry — or spoken word — writing and performing are just part of who they are. "If I don't write I start getting hives — I start chafing," says Brady, 18, who goes by the name Jai onstage. "It's not exactly a religion. It's more of an exfoliation. If I don't do it I feel weird."
Moments later, Jai gets up to read the humorous poem he swears is going to make him famous — it's called "The Metrosexual Manifesto." "I'm a storyteller," he says. "I write about things that I think are important, stories that aren't getting told. I write funny poems because the world's a pretty funny place."
WordPlay is put on by Young Chicago Authors and coordinated by Nikki Patin, who's 26 and has been doing spoken word performances since she was about 19. She says that with school, work, a social life, and relationships, teens often have to balance a lot more than adults do. Poetry gives young people an outlet to express the sometimes difficult feelings they're having.
Chicago isn't the only place where youth poetry events are catching on. Groups like YouthSpeak, with branches in Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle, organize open mics and slams, which are contests between performance poets. Poetry slams encourage poets to focus on what they're writing and how they're delivering it, and slam contests usually involve audience members rating the performances.
Every year, teams of teen poets from around the country travel to Brave New Voices National Youth Poetry Slam Festival, a national competition that's held in a different city each time. Brave New Voices also features youth open mics, poetry readings from professional performers, and poetry panels and workshops.
Finding Your Voice
You don't have to compete to be a poet. There aren't that many slams in Louisville, KY, where Megan lives. The 15-year-old stays sharp by writing a lot, performing in English class, and reading her poetry with friends. "What little performing I've done had been great because it gives me a chance to be heard," she says. "Writing allows me to say what's on my mind and figure it out from there, while being creative and sharing it with others. It also allows me to connect to other people as we write and share."
For Cindyñe, 19, poetry is a way to let out the secrets she keeps without revealing too much. "I'm a good listener," she says. "I have a lot of friends who confide in me. I want to tell everyone about these things, but I can't. I got to let it go somehow, but I can't break promises. So I write about it."
Cindyñe also writes about issues like gentrification, rape, and gang violence. She says she likes to expose the contradictions in the world. Politics and social justice are subjects that come up a lot at youth poetry events, says Nikki — and that's why she'd like to tell every adult who worries that all teens are slackers to come to just one event. "It would show everyone that teenagers are interested, informed, and have really solid opinions about politics and racism and homophobia and all of these issues," she says. "They're really using their voices to educate each other."
"Poetry is so diverse, everyone can find something they like," says Megan. "It's not just your 'dead white men' formal poetry anymore — it's everyday people getting up and just telling it like it is and finding the beauty in it all." |
|
|
|
Printable Version
Email this page