On my Poetry Friday rounds last week, I didn't notice that anyone mentioned Brandon Leake. If the name's not ringing a bell, let me fill you in. Brandon recently won this year's million dollar prize on America's Got Talent, so let's just say he is our newly-crowned (unofficial) spoken word poetry ambassador.
The fact that I'm even aware of this is a bit of a mystery. I'm not a big TV watcher. We don't have cable, and for most of our time in Florida we didn't get NBC because that channel never tuned in for us. When suddenly (after 12 years) it did, I felt compelled to explore what was on offer. I had never seen America's Got Talent before, and though it's not really my cup of tea, I happened to see spoken word poet Brandon Leake's audition. I was gobsmacked. Not by his performance so much as the fact that spoken word had made it to the national main stage.
Is Brandon Leake the best spoken word poet I've ever seen? No. There's no question he has talent, but he isn't what I would consider top tier. Not that I'm an expert, mind you, but I am more familiar with the art form than the AGT judges—Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara, and Simon Cowell. They were blown away. Never saw anything like it. Howie Mandel even gave Brandon a golden buzzer, which, if you're not familiar with the show, is a gold-confetti-falling-from-the-ceiling big deal. Long story short, I was hooked. I needed to see how far he would go. And wouldn't you know, he went all the way to last week's final and then won the whole dang thing! Spoken word poetry has been around for decades, but thanks to Brandon Leake, America just got the memo.
The following video is a compilation of all of Brandon Leake's performances on America's Got Talent.
My favorite piece is the second one (starting at 2 minutes in). It's masterful how Brandon invites the audience into his life experience through humor, love, and something as relatable as a silly pet name—his mama calls him Pookie. Once we are comfortable, we are introduced to his mother's fears. Through her eyes we see the fears of black mothers everywhere. Brandon imagines himself in the shoes of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and countless others destined to become "America's next most popular hashtag," and before we know what hit us, our eyes have been opened.
Another spoken word poet I wanted to share with you came to my attention last March. Before the Covid-19 lockdown, I attended a spoken word event for young people in my own community called ARTSPEAKS: Courageous Young Voices.
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| ARTSPEAKS: Courageous Young Voices, Gainesville, Florida, March 9, 2020 |
There, I was introduced to a talented guest poet by the name of Grim Jackson. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Grim is a Youth Grand Slam Champion who has been speaking his mind and spreading his passion for spoken word poetry since 2013. He offers his own perspective on the black experience in this powerful performance of "No More Heroes."
In the somewhat more restrained (though no less effective) video below, he was invited to open Day 1 of the 2017 National Education Association's Representative Assembly in Boston. I have a feeling that the teachers among you will especially appreciate what he has to say.
And while we're on the subject of teaching, the last performance I want to share with you is "If I should have a daughter" by Sarah Kay. I've mentioned this video before, but it's worth revisiting. Sarah's piece opens a TED Talk from 2011 where she defines spoken word poetry, talks about the role it has played in her own life, and describes its profound benefits as as a teaching tool, especially for teenagers. If you can spare 18 minutes and haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you watch the whole thing. You will be rewarded at the end with a second performance called "Hiroshima."
If you'd like to explore more, Louder than a Bomb is a terrific documentary from 2010 about four high-school teams from Chicago who compete in the world's largest youth poetry slam. For more recent videos, Button Poetry on YouTube is a wonderful place to peruse many more performances at your leisure. You can also visit the Button Poetry website.
Do you have a favorite spoken word poet or video? If so, please share in the comments!
Wow Michelle, Sarah Kay's fantastic-what a moving individual, poet, and talk! Your entire post beams with inspiration, and many ideas to think about. BTW I attended a couple Louder than a Bomb performances while my daughter was in high school, which also blew me away, thanks for all, xo.
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant post! I've always been leery of spoken word because I cannot imagine participating myself...which is weird because as a teen I loved drama and won an oratorical contest. This is fun to read and watch. Simon Cowell's face cracks me up. I'm so glad NBC tuned in just as poetry was ready to meeting you. That in itself is a story and poem? I love it.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting that Brandon might not be the best spoken word poet, but the judges were really starving for someone to bring them some poetry. I wonder if there will be a proliferation of spoken word because of his win?
ReplyDeleteWow, I'd neither heard nor seen his appearance - like you, I don't watch much TV - but what powerful performances! I'm sad, and happy, and empathetic, and inspired...right alongside him. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWe have watched every season of AGT as a family except this year! That is fantastic. I hope that it will help usher in more poetry into the mainstream.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Michelle. I love listening to slam poets. At International Reading Conferences there always was a Slam Poetry Evening. I met Brad Bogart there. He has an amazing way of presenting a poem, as do all the young poets you share in your post. I am glad that you shared AGT's amazing winner. I did not see that act when I turned on the show.
ReplyDeleteSo cool that spoken word poetry has hit the mainstream with AGT and that you have curated these fabulous videos and resources, Michelle. I'll be back to this post a few times to explore your offerings. I must confess, I'm pretty ignorant. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this. I haven't explored this part of poetry.
ReplyDeleteI was just introduced to Sarah Kay recently... what a whirlwind! Thanks for this post, a good intro to spoken word. I think I am a fan!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been watching America's Got Talent lately and now I'm sorry I missed this, Michelle. I'll take time to watch Sarah Kay later, but the others are awesome. I did some spoken word with my students every few years & they loved the doing. It is a wonderful way for more poetry in the classroom. Thanks for all of this, Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to bookmark this post and come back bit by piece to enjoy all the goodies you've linked in! THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteIt was an incredible moment. Hooray for poetry.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Great post! I know my students would enjoy lots of these.
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