I love my friends. And as such, I want to bring them to poetry. I want to present to them a bouquet of microphones with a little card on it that reads: open mic tonight? But spoken word sucks. They tell me this, stone-faced and stubborn (“No, I will not pay a cover to hear mic-whining!”). Before I consider finding new friends, I have to admit, they have a sometimes-point.
After this year’s National Poetry Slam, poet Anis Mojgani offered some sage advice via twitter:
1. Slam Family: Dont slam what you THINK will score well or what you think you are EXPECTED to compete with.6:02 PM Aug 9th via web
2. Slam Family: Instead, write what you are inspired by, write what you want to hear, & after you write those poems, perform them.6:03 PM Aug 9th via web
“So…poets prefer good writing, but won’t do it in a real slam?”–Amy David. Truth. Ante up family.6:04 PM Aug 9th via web
Now. I’m sure we can all look ourselves in the mirror and see someone who has written crap poetry. That’s not the point. But the point is also not to write as many “issue” poems as you can so you can move an audience by your acute perception of the ills of the world. You’re a poet. Your pen drips sadness without trying and you can pass for reflective while writing a poem about a carton of milk or a cow’s tooth. That is your majesty.
Let me say this: I have no qualifications that entitle me to speak candidly and critically on this topic. Let me add that I have much love for spoken word, even some of that “issue” stuff, believe-you-me.
I do not think spoken word sucks. That is, I think it is capable of wonder and greatness. Extreme ingenuity can be found in the medium. But there is also the inadvertently ridiculous. It’s alright. The ridiculous exists in all things.
Now. I present to you some truly bad spoken word (don’t cry, poets– they just make fun of what they can’t understand)!
“Oh you’re reading at a poetry open mic, huh? Like in I Married An Axe Murderer?”
“Oh please, Muses! I hope not….”
Demetri Martin. Slam. Poet. Slams. Poetry.
Tags: anis mojgani, demetri martin, mike myers, national poetry slam, slam poetry sucks, so i married an axe murderer
