Spoken Word Goes Prime Time

 

 

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. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaPXcg7lLfg

 

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.

 

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. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb1iDGnQjpE

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."

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snNB1yS3IE

 

 

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!

 

 

Join Tabatha Yeatts for this week's Poetry Friday roundup at The Opposite of Indifference. She's got a special guest post by Carole Boston Weatherford today featuring Beauty Mark, a new verse novel about Marilyn Monroe. (Read Carole Boston Weatherford's Spotlight ON interview at Today's Little Ditty HERE.)

 

While the Ditty of the Month Club is on an extended hiatus, this is a great time to peruse the TLD archives. You'll find an alphabetical listing of spotlight interviews HERE and links to all 50 of our ditty challenges HERE. You'll also find The Best of Today's Little Ditty (2014-2015, 2016, and 2017-2018) available in paperback and ebook versions on Amazon.com.
 

 

 

I slam. Therefore I am.

Poets Konstantyn Kuzminsky and Hedwig Gorski, originator of the term "performance poetry."

Continuing on from last week's post, which featured videos of Canadian poet and performer, Shane Koyczan, today I'm delving deeper into the world of spoken word poetry.  Performance poetry and the rising popularity of poetry slams have intrigued me for some time, but I've finally figured out what I'd like to do with that interest.  I'd like to start a performance poetry club at my daughter's school.  I haven't yet approached the teachers or administrators about it, but it's the kind of school that tends to be open to such things.  And from there who knows where it might lead?

One reason I'm enthusiastic about the idea is because it takes me full circle, back to my college days when I was known to mix things up a bit, artistically speaking.  Back then we called it "avant-garde" or "experimental" theater, or sometimes "performance art."  For me, it was what came naturally.  Need a vocally choreographed version of John Donne's "Death Be Not Proud"?  Sure.  How about a contemporary Garden of Eden dance performance combined with the first scene of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi? You bet.  Or maybe you fancy a cutting edge version of the German Expressionist play Murderer the Women's Hope, by Oskar Kokoschka?  Heck, yeah.

I was such a sweet girl back then...     but I digress.

The other reason performance poetry is a natural fit for me is because of my more recent experience as a Girl Scout troop leader.  (I know, could this post get more random?  Stay with me....)  I became a Girl Scout leader because I wanted to help girls build self-esteem, self-confidence, and find their own unique voices.  Though my troop dissipated after three years, the girls moving on to different middle schools and other interests, my desire to help young people find value in who they are and what they have to say has not strayed.  For me, the delicious mixture of performance, poetry, and self-expression seems an appropriate next step.

And, boy, do young people have some incredible things to say!

Here is Lily Myers at CUPSI (College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational) 2013, with "Shrinking Woman":

And here is Ethan Metzger in the first annual Bronx Youth Poetry Slam (May 2013), with "Brainwashing":

How hard can it be to become a spoken word artist anyway?  According to Gayle Danley, it's merely a five step process of transformation.  There's a wonderful motivational TED Talk about spoken word poetry by Sarah Kay, performance poet and founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.  And, if still in doubt, I can always turn to these five practical tips for poetry performance from one of my favorite Poetry Friday contributors, Renée LaTulippe.  (By the way, Renée will be my special guest in Limerick Alley this coming Tuesday, so stay tuned!)

But what have I missed?  What I'd really like to know from you-- teachers, poets, and word lovers, all-- do you have any advice as I prepare to embark upon this new adventure?

For a poetic adventure of your own, look no further than the Poetry Friday roundup, hosted today by Tara at A Teaching Life.  Inspiration abounds!