Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Who else lives here???
For those of you who do not know, I am a student at the wonderful East Carolina University located in good ole Greenville, NC. It's not as big as my hometown Charlotte, NC, but it is big enough to make you feel like you're not on a deserted island. I am now going into my Junior year and for the past 2 years that I have been in this city, I have definitely made it my business to find the poets and become apart the small poetry movement they have here. It's definitely nothing compared to SlamCharlotte and The Concrete Generation, but it certainly serves as a great environment for poets to grow and be inspired. I have done countless sets and appearances at many shows and I am starting to realize that I am running into the same crowds, and therein lies my dilemma. Like most poets, I use my poetry as an outlet for not only myself, but for others as well. I am notorious for telling someone else's story, while at the same time, I still maintain the artistic part of writing poetry. My poetry is usually heavy in metaphor and puns to dress up the language and make the poem entertaining for the readers and listeners. Yet this same crowd that I keep performing in front of is starting to show me that they don't really enjoy my style of poetry as much as others. I was watching the crowds reaction to other poets and it seems that these people enjoy poetry that is more direct and just says everything in plain English. In my opinion, that's not real poetry, it is prose. The thing that makes poetry so much different (and better) than prose is the fact that the language can be playful. You can say things indirectly while still packing meaning. These people would much rather me say something like, "I hate vegetables," as oppose to me saying, "I look at vegetables like a claustrophobic Santa Clause looks at chimneys." So I believe the solution is that I need to reach out to a new demographic... but how? It's not like when these shows are promoted, the PR only ask for middle aged African American couples to show up, that's just who comes. Hopefully I will figure it out soon...
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I was involved in deep dialogue w/a fellow poet about this very issue last night. I feel your pain bruh ((or, frustration rather))...its a trying thing to consistently stick to form and not express yourself based on crowd-pleasing. The beauty of poetic art is that, sometimes, it really doesn't matter WHO gets you...meanwhile, it doesn't hurt when one's deep analogies and dope play on words is appreciated--so it's a happy medium I feel like poets in Greenville are looking for...I know I am...but I am convinced that all it takes is that one audience member to go back and tell their friends about the poet with that [-insert adjective here-]flavah on the mic...I think, in Greenville definitely, Diversity and Culture are slowly budding from it's past stale mate form...I remember when I first got to Greenville/ECU, the most I had, outside of the club/house party scene, was Friday Night Jazz w/Dr. D and his crew. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good house party (LOL) but coming from Brooklyn and even Wilmington, it was depressing at times...I was SO happy to finally get my car so I could travel and get a good dose of my personal "reality" which happens to be chock full of blues bars and poetry joints and art museums and Slams etc...Give it a little time and keep doing what you do (this is what I keep telling myself too *chuckles*)...really tho, it's a process BUT it is surely on the upward and onward track and that's a good look [comparatively]
ReplyDelete-j [s.k.a.] Phoenix