Gina Loring "Somewhere There is a Poem"

A breath of fresh air.  One of the most invigorating wordsmiths of our contemporary society.  Poetry in its sincerest form and a shining example of someone who does what she loves and loves what she does.  The top ranking female poet at the 2002 National Poetry Slam, she was featured on two seasons of HBO’s Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry.

 

"Truth Be Told"

Listen…  Listen to the words of a woman as if they are glistening from her tongue dripping drops of sound like the first words that ever touched your ears.

Pay attention…  Pay attention to her as if father time has rewound the clocks to the day of your first meeting. Time is fleeting. Keep the hearts of passion beating.

Nurture a woman by cultivating the seeds of her love and conviction to you so there may never be an eviction notice on her heart.

Make yourself vulnerable…  Let her see beyond the rough exterior walls you built brick by brick because she will find strength in your arms when you hold her.

If you are lucky enough to touch a woman's soul then let her tag yours like graffiti on the sides of subway trains and corner store brick walls that you’re tearing down one by one for her anyway.

Truth be told be bold and mean the words that you sold her. Your words are a gift..  and she’s been unwrapping pretty packages with empty meanings half her life so she will see through the lies and disguise you might try and hand her.

Peace of mind…  Give her peace of mind, assurance she was made for you and forge a blockade for her around your heart that no other soul could penetrate.  Form a crusade in her name in order to invade every fiber of her heart with ever lasting unconditional love.  She was handmade by God and brought down from heaven by delicate winged angels for a union of your souls.. so treat her as such.

Offer her compassion to the point she will never be left to ration out your empathy and remain mindful of the rainless droughts of emotions you allow to fall upon her.  It is painful when the reservoirs of your love go dry so apply tenderness with your words and actions.

Try…  Try and understand her to the point you are not only acting on the same stage but she can find you on the same page written into the same paragraph as one another.  Your sentences beginning where hers left off becoming a trade-off line after line after line.

Honesty and respect is what she expects.  So why offer anything less? 

She’s not an object to posses so leave out the distress of holding her to some idealistic standards for you to impress.  She can’t live up to them anyway. 

Strength, security and protection..  There can be no greater affection.  She wants to lie next to you at night knowing you would go toe to toe with the universe for her next birthright.

And women…  and women… forget about the money, the cars, the clothes, the jewelry and the fairy tale romance you think your life will enhance.  When a man truly offers you his heart… what more could you ask for?

Copyright © Scott Compton 2008

Spoken Word 101; Getting You Started

How do you know if you are a spoken word artist? The answer is pretty much: If you want to be, you can be.  The way people get their start in the field is as unique as their fingerprint.  The best way to begin is simply at home with a pen and pad; writing down words and lyrics; and committing them to memory.  To be considered a spoken word artist and not just a poet, the time will come to prepare for public performance.  Good spoken word artists convey thoughts not just through speech, but through timing and body language as well.  They don’t just say their words; they become them.

 

"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."
                           — Percy Bysshe Shelley

For more information & resources for beginners check out www.poets.org

Rafael Casal "First Week Of A Break-Up"

Rafael Casal is a 2-time (Inter)National BNV Poetry Slam Finalist Champion and 3-Time cast member of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on HBO.  Also known as Mr.Getback, he is an American writer, slam poet, recording artist, educator, and founding member of The Getback.

Walt Whitman Once Wrote

"To have great poets," "there must be great audiences."  If "great" implies "large," he was wrong.  

We live in an age of poetry in which there is hardly any audience for it.  If it wasn't for the bold and courageous move by Russell Simmons to introduce Spoken Word Poetry on the wildly successful HBO series "Def Poetry Jam" one can only wonder where the demand would even be for anything poetry related today.  Few have risen to fame from this art form such as actor and rapper Mos Def.  Personally, I would not be writing and performing Spoken Word this very day if it wasn't for the "Def Poets" series that brought it back into the national limelight.  Even with the national attention it brought, as a whole, people are unaware that poetry at this level even exists.  It's hard to imagine the ability to intertwine and weave words on top of subject matter that crosses over race and gender the way an artist does today.  The lack of demand or size of any given crowd is mainly because in order to understand it, it must be experienced.  I had been writing for over a decade and still held the same opinions of poetry as most still do today.  Although I wrote it, I didn't read it, didn't want to hear anyone recite it but then I found out I had yet to experience it.  Now I am giving that experience back as I have often heard on several occasions after a performance: "I've heard poetry before, but never like that."  Spoken Word still remains underground, as great things do, but when a truly gifted artist steps to the mic they can shut the conversations and noise in a room off like a flip of a switch.  I have witnessed this first hand both while sitting in the audience and while standing before them spitting out my verse.  It's hard not to recognize that there isn't a sound in the room but your voice and it's at that moment you begin to realize you are transcending poetry and everyone's preconceived notion of it.  While it often takes little talent and simple lyrics for rappers and musicians to be played every hour on radio stations around the world, a good majority of them couldn't begin to dream to write with the aptitude that the top poets of this generation are writing at.  For now, most will continue to perform in small coffee houses and clubs making people take notice that the poets of today's generation are breathing life into the pieces they create right before your eyes.  And as long as artists, such as myself, carry a passion far greater than fame or wealth then there will always be poetry.

Jason Carney "Southern Heritage"

Jason Carney has been a mainstay on the national performance poetry scene for the past ten years. Hailing from Dallas, Texas this fiery performer brings unique insights on issues of race class and gender. Using the lessons of his past he weaves together images that transform the audience. Breaking down barriers and biases so that all can have an honest conversation involving some of our nation's critical issues. Jason has performed all across our country mesmerizing audiences with his wit and conviction. Whether telling an illuminating antidote about his children or stirring the ghost of our societies past present and future his effect is riveting.

Jason has appeared on several seasons of the HBO television show RUSSELL SIMMONS DEF POETS. He is a four time national poetry slam finalist. Honored as a legend of slam poetry in 2006 and 2007. Jason has done six NACA conferences including two national conventions. Been seen on national geographic channel as well as local television channels across the United States. He has spoken and done workshops at high schools juvenile detention centers corporate diversity engagements as well has colleges and universities extensively in the fifty states.

Poetry Slams

One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry in performance.  This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force.  This generation of spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

A slam itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience, which serves as judge.  The work is judged as much on the manner and enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style.  The structure of the traditional slam was started by construction worker and poet Marc Smith in 1986 at a reading series in a Chicago jazz club.  The competition quickly spread across the country, finding a notable home in New York City at the Nuyorican Poets Café.

As of 2010, the National Poetry Slam has grown and currently features approximately 80 certified teams each year, culminating in five days of competition.  Slams have spread all over the world, with slam scenes in Canada, Germany, Sweden, France, Austria, Israel, Switzerland, Nepal, the Netherlands, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Denmark, South Korea, India and Greece.

HBO's Brave New Voices

Russell Simmons Presents "Brave New Voices." 

HBO's new show captures the excitement and raw talent from the poets of the 2010 National Slam Team Championship.  Hosted by Common and Rosario Dawson, the 60 minute special trails the poetry journey of four teams (from Denver, Albuquerque, the Bay Area and New York City) in a five day festival that includes poetry workshops, intimate slams and stage performances.

Sat. Oct 23rd at 11pm.
   

Link to HBO: Brave New Voices, Homepage 

  

Kenneth Morrison "At 13"

A Spoken Word Anti-Bullying Performance.  This heart wrenching spoken word piece by Kevin Morrison, lays bare what it feels like for a 13-year-old to be rejected by his family, ridiculed by his church, and called f*ggot by his peers.  To feel like he was dead on the inside.  To believe that there was no other way out than to take a knife to his veins.

 

In memory of Devon, Kenneth's best friend

 

"Perhaps"

Perhaps….
 

Perhaps one day I will look back at this moment and sense what the world was trying to teach me…

In the midst of so much unrest, trees burning, ashes falling upon my head while the ruins I hold in my hands.  All is dusk no rays of light to be found or hope for that matter.  My heart it beats but I can barely hear the flutter.  Lost and broken beyond a point no priceless token could buy back the shattered pieces that remain my soul. 

I drift off in a haze unaware of the days that are passing and why my spirit is stead fast on fasting.  I’ve become entombed in the hell, this prison cell, which has become my mind.  So much burnt to the ground as I look around at all the soot covered imagery I see before me.  This has become such a dark desolate picture so bleak from the painting all the colorful colors we crafted together.  Still smoldering from my hands is all that I am still holding onto.  Holding on to you or at least what has become the depiction, all be it fiction, of all I believed you embodied.   So unaware of the care you were lacking or the vacant places you chose to find your solitude. 

Once in the presence of my heart you saw that you had only mere played in the shadows of love…. 

Offering such an affectionate embrace so foreign was the touch it left you anxious and alone.  Creeping back to your closed off world of hidden sadness buried deep within…  I exiled to nothingness. 

With my hands I caress each crack of my broken heart as my finger tips trace the jagged edges.  Opening my eyes once again I see the ashes of all my shattered dreams.  Clinging on to self…  all my expectations the years of dedication to the oneness of my life.

Hope becoming my only guide… 

Sanguinity lies off in the distance and may be to far from my grasp although I keep on grasping.  It comes in the form of words of regards as each one slowly places back the shards that are scattered before my feet.  It comes in touching tenderness embrace clearing all that was smoldering around me so maybe… just maybe I could look back at this moment and sense what the world was trying to teach me.

While all along God was trying to reach me…

Copyright © Scott Compton 2008

 

Shihan "Flashy Words"

Shihan is one the most dynamic & successful Spoken Word artists of our generation.  His abilities to transcend cultural and generational boundaries have made him one of the most sought after talents.  National Poetry Slam Champion (2004) and National Poetry Slam Finalist (2nd in 2001, 5th in 2003 and 3rd in 2005)

It Can't be Explained

How does one explain something (Spoken Word) that is about passion for the art more than love of wealth or fame.  To really understand it, it can’t be explained to you; you must experience it.  

PoetrySlam.com & IWPS.PoetrySlam.com is a great resource for information on slam events.

For information on spoken word venues nationwide, visit Letsdoitontheroad.com.

The highly celebrated HBO series, Def Poetry Jam, can be found online at DefPoetryJam.com.

YouTube.com has an immense amount of videos.  Finding the best artists to watch can be tricky unless your in the know.

My own performances can be found on my video bar and as postings within this Blog.
 

Not all Poetry is Spoken Word

There tend to be a lot of misconceptions about spoken word poetry.  One of the main ones is that all poetry is spoken word, or all poets have the ability to be spoken word artists.  This is not necessarily the case.  Although in its simplistic form, spoken word poetry is said rather than read, the greater revelation is that spoken word poetry is meant to be performed.  Langston Hughes and E. E. Cummings are considered to be great poets.  Amiri Baraka and The Lost Poets are revered as great spoken-word artists.

"Spoken Word" The Movie

Winner of 5 International Film Festivals & the Starz Denver Film Festival.

 

From acclaimed director Victor Nunez ("Ulee's Gold") SPOKEN WORD tells the story of Cruz Montoya (Kuno Becker) a rock star on the West Coast poetry circuit, where audiences from San Diego to Seattle gather to hear him perform.  Just off the road from a successful tour, Cruz gets an unexpected call alerting him that his father (played by Rubén Blades) is fatally ill.

Cruz rushes home to his dying father.  After years away, Cruz quickly begins to retreat into his troubled former life.  Cruz loses his poetic voice, his identity, and almost his life, before he finds a way to heal his relationships with his family, his community and himself.  

 

Spoken Word is not Beatnik Poetry

While Spoken Word and the Beatniks do share an emphasis on poetry and poems about consciousness and confession, there are a number of important differences.  The first difference is the lack of emphasis at all on publishing.  Spoken Word is not recognized because it is not published.  Many artists and poets have not published any of their works in book forms.  More often they use video and audio recording.  Also spoken word is more about spreading all poetry of all diversities; not just about the white male community as was the Beats in the 1960s.  Many poets today are more concerned with having their work heard than having it read off the page.

Another and more important difference is it's diversity.  The Beats were very particular about who was in and out.  Spoken word has a rough-edged, populist attitude, is intent on spreading the word of all poetry, and carries a democratizing energy.  It's a product of the current times, thus there are women and other nonwhite men involved.  Despite their liberal beliefs, the Beats were strictly a white male community, a marked distinction from the populist attitude of the 1990's spoken word movement.  Spoken Word seeks to promote a tolerance and understanding between people.  The aim is to dissolve the social, cultural, and political boundaries that generalize the human experience and make it meaningless.  The Beats shared a philosophy, a political agenda and even a style that separates it from Spoken Word.  The Beats in the 1960's could have never envisioned the poetry style that would become the Spoken Word movement in the 1990's.

The philosophy and purpose of Spoken Word has been to reveal poetry as a living art.  It's about getting people excited, about what you say and how you say it.  With its dynamic performers and subject matter that twenty-something people could understand and relate to, was an attempt to open up the world of poetry to an audience whose idea of the art form was derived only from inert pages in a book.

Simply put, Spoken Word is bringing poetry back to the people through performance art while breathing life into their work and not through means of publication.
 

My Personal Explanation Of Spoken Word

Spoken Word goes beyond writing creative pieces of work with depth and imagination.  It is acting, rhyming and story telling all rolled together with immense amount of energy and passion.  Spoken word poems, typically, are not meant to be read.  Most often they are powerful intense pieces meant to be heard and performed where the artist does more than simply recite their words, they become them.   An artist at the highest level is the one willing to bare their soul in the form of words for all the audience to see.  They are taking their written words and bringing them to life before your eyes.  Performing spoken word is to take the audience on a journey while reaching deep inside their core touching on it like an awakening of some sort.  Spoken word is more about passion for the art more than the love of wealth or fame.  In order to truly understand it, it must be experienced.
  

"Dear Dad"

Sorry for denying you I wasn't trying to.

It was yet my adult like mind that wasn't kind to the love a parent has for a child. You gave me love with open arms unconditionally but unofficially I rejected what you tried to show me.

Not even sure I let you really get to know me.

This chip on my shoulder I allowed to grow boulder causing greater separation for which there would be no reparations. I wanted my time and my space but it left me stuck in this place and a feeling I can't explain or erase.

Twelve years removed as I write this my animosity I fight this.

Through my young like mind I didn't perceive you or allow myself to receive the father, the husband and man that you were. I thought with the impression but it was just my deception that I needed to ignore, think of you as a bore and all you were wanting was my time something more.

If I could bare your name on my chest maybe I could let this rest, find some peace and come to terms with your decease.

Thank you for mom and all that you gave her the love it saved her, which in turn allowed me to stand and sustain this.

All I wish is that I could be you, somehow see you, take the time and truly grieve you.

Talk for a moment in time to find that childlike sublime truly embraced with unconditional love.

Instead I seek you in my dreams where I keep you this where I get to speak to. This is where I share memories I can bear not having to pretend that I don't care.

Unknowing to me I will someday be standing in the position you once had someone looking up to me possibly rejecting the love that I'm directing… calling me a dad.

Copyright © Scott Compton 2005 

Scott Compton "Dreams Are Raining Down"

On Oct 17th 2009 I stood on stage, for my very first time, in RL Productions First Annual ShowCase Show.  Chosen to feature Spoken Word, I performed in front of a sold out show of 300 hundred people.  My performance was such a hit with the audience I have been collaborating with RL Production ever since and have future plans in the works with production companies in the Tampa Bay area.
     

 

Copyright © Scott Compton 2009