Poetry Slamming All Night (credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)
Writer: Erica Kim
June 5, 2015
"The truth is so rarely one thing." A common phrase used by
spoken word poets; spoken word is an art form of poetry
intended for onstage performance rather than read. Its goal is
to reach the audience with a specific message referencing current
events, societal issues, or personal testimonies- it is commonly
referred to as "poetry slam." Roughly sixty people, adults and college
student, attend ExpressURself, a spoken word poetry event hosted
by the UCI Poetry club, the Uncultivated Rabbits May 8th. Fliers were
posted around the campus announcing performances by Alex Dang and
Clementine Von Radics- two highly esteemed spoken word poets;
Dang has appeared in multiple TedX events while Clementine is known
for her poetry blog, "Clementinepoetry."
Sosa welcoming the guest
(credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)
It Begins
It is 8:00, the lights dim and the stage's christmas lights come on.
The MC, Sosa, introduces the performers.Surprisingly, Dang and Clementine
aren't the first performers- a member of the Uncultivated Rabbits takes
the stage. Max Gonzalez is nervous and stiff but the crowd welcomes his
metaphorical piece about his eyesight with snaps. As the night carries
on,a total of six Uncultivated Rabbit's members' perform and the
audience gets more confident to interrupt the speakers with sounds of
encouragement much like acongregation
egging on a pastor during his messages. Instead of hallelujahs the
poetic etiquette is to grumble as if we had tasted something delicious.
By 8:40 it is intermission and topics such as gender stereotypes, racism versus patriotism, spine injuries, feminism, and gay rights have been blown through
Alex Dang and Clementine Von Radics
(credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)
9:20 and Alex Dang is first to perform after the musical guest Brandon Massaro. He begins his poem with regular conversation; he asks the crowd how they're doing, he exclaims how excited he is to be performing and before anyone notices, he has already starts his first poem cleverly disguised as part of his personal introduction. Dang is humorous and utilizes colloquial slang paired with frequent hand motions- the audience is brought to tears of laughter in two minutes. Aside from the humor in poking at the flaws of the young generation such as "self obsessed," Dang is able to express the pride in that "we are innovators...trail blazers." The closing line "we just like looking at ourselves" perfectly embodies what Clementine later states. "Slam poetry is all about playing with perception and reality and portraying both to an audience."
Dang and Clementine switch off performing and each poem is by length two to four minutes. Clementine receives the most love when she performs a poem about Kim Kardashian and the Old Testament. She is eloquent and passionate in language and often utilizes metaphors; she compares Kim Kardashian to female prowess and the different veils of the Old Testament to gender disadvantages and societal expectations. A man somewhere in the crowd remarks in a solemn tone, "that's deep" which starkly contrast to the reaction of laughter that Dang's style of performance evokes.
10:15pm Dang and Clementine announce they’re down to their last performance of the night; Dang's last poem is titled "What Kind of Asian are You?" and Clementine's last poem is called "My Hometown." The audience doesn’t have time to clap because immediately two chairs are put on stage signaling the Question and Answer interview portion to begin. Eager hands go up and the atmosphere is casual and relaxed much like evening coffee with friends.
The Million-Dollar Question
Near 10:30 the event is at a close and the last question is put forth. "How can you make a successful career in poetry?" on onlooker inquires. Clementine and Dang give similar answers succinctly paraphrased when Clementine quoted Mark Twain- "I'm a great believer in luck. I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." Dang added "When you cant write anymore poetry then you read some more and when you cant do any of that, then you write again. Its a cycle of hard work." With their last statement, the audience applauded and Sosa
climbed back on to thank everyone for coming out. (credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)
Farah Billah, Emily Meneses, Sabrina O'Roucke- Uncultivated members performing "The Woman and the Myth"
The End of the Night
Before the crow dispersed, Sosa explained the Uncultivated Rabbits symbolized
moss reproduction of culture; all the performers and audience members were
directed to take a group photo and for annual tradition's sake, like a movie,
spread one hand into the middle of the circle, and synchronously shouted
uncultivated. The event was officially over.
.
