Poem Slamming All Night

Alex Dang and Clementine Von Radics's first piece together

(credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)

"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 on page reading. 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, attended 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 8:00pm; 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 a congregation 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.

Dang and Clementine

(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 started 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 "selfie 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 of the night 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?" an onlooker inquires. Clementine and Dang give similar answers succinctly paraphrased in Clementines quote of 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 applauds and Sosa

climbs back on to the stage to thank everyone for coming out.

The End of the Night

( credit: David Dinh Ngo UCI New U.)Farah Billah, Emily Meneses, Sabrina O'Roucke- Uncultivated members performing "The Woman and the Myth")

Before the crowd disperses, Sosa explains the Uncultivated Rabbits symbolize

mass reproduction of culture. Right after, all the performers and audience members are directed to take a group photo and for annual tradition's sake, like a movie, they all

spread one hand into the middle of the circle, and synchronously shout uncultivated. The event is officially over.

#uci #Poetry