new layout.indd 1 5/5/08 6:11:35 PM · “slam poem = the first poem I ever wrote for the specific...

new layout.indd 1 5/5/08 6:11:35 PM

31Jonathan Clarke Sypert

iNTREPiD

“I wrote a poem about an abortion that destroyed a relationship I treasured as a way to cope. I found a slam at UH at a coffee shop within the YWCA, entered with my poem and won. I was hooked ever since.”

“a way to COPE...”

This professional performance artist and performing arts teacher is still ac-tively involved with slam poetry events because he feels free speech should be promoted. He believes slam poetry to be a method that can interpret on so many levels; “Slams are organized events that encourage the cathartic action of putting your pain to pen and finding the peace and hope within.”His perfor-mance shows a deep history and bright journey.

“Slams are organized events that encourage the cathartic action of putting your pain to pen and finding the peace and hope within.”


In my short time on this planet, I’ve been called many thingsLover, FighterPioneer, BiterLowest of the low and King of Kings

And for all the good it brings, it yields some negative attention

But luckily for me, my attention span suffers from bad retention

Now, from time to time, I’ve dipped in crime, drug sales and the like

Got blacked out drunk, stoned off my ass, got in a couple fights

And it might seem daunting, but the part haunting my actions is in fact just one word:“Gangsta”

There’s this misconception that vehemently disobeying social norms makes you a common crimi-nal

But there’s a nugget of truth in the back of your skull and it’s more than just subliminal

It is pivotal to realize that there’s no such thing as “NORMAL”

And formal behavior tends to have temporary flavor,

Savor the moment, have a drink and cut some rug,

but just ‘cause “You can find me in the Club” it don’t make me any kind of thug

I’ve got a different genetic make-up than anyone in the industry can buy

I’m a living, breathing, walking, talking Hybrid Synergy Drive

And if you misinterpet my indigenous skin as a disguise,

Well then I guess I just suggest you probably shoulda properly wiped the shit out from your eyesI am the future . . . If I so choose to be

Or the most effective creature that you could ever see, butI’m not gangsta

I am nice to old ladies, I don’t drive the speed limit, but I do enjoy holding babies

See, From the Hood is one thing, What’s Really Hood’s another

From the Hood’s got blues to sing, What’s Really Hood kills your brother

We smother understanding, but we rarely squash the beef

We flossin platinum grillz, we shoulda just been flossin our teeth

My loose leafs are full sheets of battle armor, your judgements can only scar me

For if the pen is mightier than the sword, then I have amassed ARMIES

Of slings full of Hyperbolies, Subjectively tipped poison arrows,

My outrageous fortune is my refinery, I get this shit by the barrel

My feral side will rarely hide when the choice is fight or flight,But after a moment of consideration -

Ain’t nobody need to die tonight

Ain’t nobody need to lose they life just ‘cause they scuffed my new Jordans

If he realized what a prize it is to find shoes in my size, he’d say:

“EIGHTEENS?!?! HOW CAN YOU AFFORD ‘EM?!”

Outta sheer boredom, we could probly sit back and kick back a couple of brews

And have a conversation loaded with I Heard That’s and Too True’s

Abusive mentalities tend to flip both sides of the coin

Such a violent current reality that I weep for the fruit of our loinsWhat Legacy do we leave for them?

What do they receive from us?

When they’d rather deceive than trust, is it any wonder they believed in us?So in the streets, they bust

Slam... “gives me a place to put all of these thoughts. Otherwise, my head

would explode.”

T U I S C A N L A N

This 24 year old natural poet, stumbled upon a craft

he claims has become a “beautiful relationship.” A means of portraying a

side people are usually too afraid to show the world,

Tui has no trouble shar-ing his expressions and

thoughts with the world. Besides being a poet, he is an actor, director and

stagehand.

Poet, Actor and Stagehand

“Too Easy”


“It's a nickname that was given to me a long time ago by my sister, a shortened/mixed-up version of Sarita(my birth name is Sarah). I eventually found out it means 'wom-an' in both Tegulu and Kanada, both spoken in India.”

“Stri”30

Trully a figure of the heart, Stri is an familiar face of agencies work-ing toward a better world. As an advocate and educator for the teens in Domestic Violence Action Center, as well as Pacific Writer’s Connection and Youth Speaks Hawaii she gives all her energry to scuplting the crafts of the future.

working toward a better world.

“I was initially introduced to slam when Saul Williams came to do a presentation to a tiny audience in Asheville,

NC, where I was living at the time. Afterwards I saw the movie Slam, and read

his books, but was still relatively clueless about

the format, material, rules, and competative nature of

slam. I started attending Youth Speaks workshops

just over 3 years ago, and a bit over 2 years ago, I finally

made myself share my own work at Hawaiian Hut, after

performing in 'The Vagina Monologues.' There's only

so much you can encourage teenagers to participate in

without doing it yourself.”

Saul Williams


Slam has effected my

life in huge ways. Youth

Speaks is one of the

most incredible things

i've ever participated.

the kids are amazingly

talented and incred-

ibly brave. Slam has

influenced me to write

in different ways, as

my poetry prior to slam

was either page poetry,

or rhymes to be spit to

a beat, whereas slam

has it's own format and

rules. It has taught me

the difference between

writing for a public

crowd of non-writers

who will only have the

opportunity to hear my

work, versus writing for

an audience of literary

readers who will see

my work. Slam has also

taught me about how

it is totally ridiculous

and stupid to assign

scores to someone's

emotional expression.

it is not fair, and there

is no getting around the

fact that scores effect

the way that poets feel

about their work and

themselves, sometimes

for the better, sometimes

Slam has effected my

life in huge ways. Youth

Speaks is one of the

most incredible things

i've ever participated.

the kids are amazingly

talented and incred-

ibly brave. Slam has

influenced me to write

in different ways, as

my poetry prior to slam

was either page poetry,

or rhymes to be spit to

a beat, whereas slam

has it's own format and

rules. It has taught me

the difference between

writing for a public

crowd of non-writers

who will only have the

opportunity to hear my

work, versus writing for

an audience of literary

readers who will see

my work. Slam has also

taught me about how

it is totally ridiculous

and stupid to assign

scores to someone's

emotional expression.

it is not fair, and there

is no getting around the

fact that scores effect

the way that poets feel

about their work and

themselves, sometimes

for the better, sometimes

28 English Teacher

Alex Armstrong

This public school English teacher has found the driving force to the youth’s means of forceful expression. Intro-duced to the art form in 2004 on Nu`uanu Street in a place called Studio 1; she felt it was something her students could really appreciate. Her feelings were acurate and lead her to have a fervent relationship with the area of slam poetry, from a distance, until July 2007 when she made her first stage appearance. Working with a different style than most slam poets Alex intends to innovate her own little piece of slam heaven.

“I slam because I like writing and I like attention from an audience. I like the fact that slam is so democratic; that no matter what I want to say, I can go up there and say it and there's an audience of over 500 people who are going to listen. I like the immediate feedback of an audience.”

2004

July 2007“I realized that it was a highly accessible art form, and I knew that my students would love it.”


“Poetry plays a big part of my life. I teach it, write it, perform it, and live it. Being a part of YouthSpeaks has been a wonderful experience. Empowering

youth and their voices, getting them to speak out and take an interest in

community and social topics and issues. They also cover topics and issues in

their own life. The honesty and bravery of these poets inspire me greatly. Poetry

is a universal language, which uses the little intricacies of lives to show

that we are all connected and it is our experiences that make us connected in

humanity.”

“Dar’ron”“The Pun-issuer”

Darron Cambra27

This 9th grade English Teacher finds his Youth Speaks Hawai`i invole-ment not far from his daily occupation. Darron Cambra is a mentor for the youth in Hawai`i today. He started his journey at around the same age as many of his students today but didn’t release his passion to the world until he was exposed to First Thurs-days at Studio 1.

“I teach itwrite itperform itand live it.”


Travis Ka'ulula'au ThompsonTravisT

Travis lite my eyes up the first time I heard him

perform, his words stung my heart and his body versed

my soul. At 28 years old it seems almost impossible he

could touch a person like that. But this entrepenuar

has done just that in the slam community as well as with Hawaii’s youth. With

teaching positions at Palama Settlement, Halau Ku Mana

Hawaiian Charter School and as a mentor with Youth

Speaks Hawaii, Travis is touching the youth who need

it most. If not for HBO’s showing of “Slam Nation”

this form of expression may have taken a bit longer to

reach his knowledge.“SLAM NATION”

back in 2000“slam poem = the first poem I ever wrote for the specific purpose of spitting from a microphone infront of an audience = strangers who pass judgement.”

“well [slam] keeps me busy, I've self published 2 chapbooks and a CD; been the subject of a feature length documentary, as well as representing the state of Hawaii in the National Slam Poetry Competition for the last 5 years. Three out of 4 of my jobs has been made possible pretty much directly BECAUSE of slam poetry: both teaching gigs were made poss-bile cause someone saw me slam and wanted to see if I wanted to teach, as either a private contractor or as an artist in residence. life is good”

“self published 2 chapbooks and a CD”


A graduate of M.I.T. Kealoha is the man

responsible for the exis-tence of Hawai`iSlam as well as FirstThursdays.

Finding the art form in 2000 while in San

Francisco as a business consultant, he left his job with an ambition

for his passion. He has been sucessfull with his passion ever since. His

style of slam is lively and full of energy and

expression. He talks about issues that are

important to the com-munity of Hawai`i at

large as well as Native Hawaiians. He struck me with his creativity and subject matter. He

hit home with his poem, “I am a Hawaiian Living

in the 21st Century.”

K E A L O H A

“the past hold injustices, truth.”“I am a Hawaiian in the 21st century, the conflict within me is the same which separates my people...”

“you dont understand what America has done to us...”

30slam poet

“It's how I communicate my thoughts to the world. In much

the same way that a dancer chooses to dance, and that a paint-er chooses to paint, I've chosen to

write and perform poetry.”

“the past hold injustices, truth.”“I am a Hawaiian in the 21st century, the conflict within me is

the same which separates my people...”

“you dont understand what America has done to us...”


“poetry is not for the masses its for the few...” - Misfits

“Im as emotionally stable as lighting...” -Stri

“the only real way to feel her skin is to LISTEN!” -Misfits

“...we are still dying the slow death of an occupide people.” - TravisT“...some people get pushed, some jump...”

- Dar’ron

“...the trully powerful have words...” -Tui Scanlin

“its easy to tell kids what to learn but difficult to teach them how.” - Alex Armstrong

“No I’m not religious now, I’m a child of Christ now.” -Alex Armstrong

“respect is the prevention” -Intrepid

“the ones who fall through the cracks are the ones I never realized I was ignoring.”

-Alex Armstrong

“...put feathers back on your wings so you can fly...” -Dar’ron




“...we are still dying the slow death of an occupide people.” - TravisT

“...some people get pushed, some jump...” - Dar’ron

I found slam on a 3 minute portion of an hour long movie. It was something I felt in my soul, some may deem a calling. I have attended three slam poetry events in Hawaii, one being the Youth Speaks Finals and find it to be a voice for my generation and many more to come. Finding myself through this Slam Nation.

THEY CAN SPEAK FOR

THEMSELVES


Sink or SwimBy TravisT

I live in a city in the middle of a sea/ Sort of like Atlantis/

Except, Honolulu is a paradise located in the Pacific/ Ocean,to be more spe-

cific/And though we have yet to slip into Plato’s sea (“in a single day and night of misfortune”)

never to be seen again/We are a city, slowly sinking into the cold dark depths/Like the Titanic, BROADSIDED by

a crystal-meth ice-rock epidemic the size of a killer ice-berg

[There’s more to surviving this war on drugs/Then can be seen from above the calm glassy surface of ice-pipe laden street

corners,/There aren’t enough lifeboats,/So the upper class drive alarm locked SUVs off into the sunsets of suburbia seeking

safety/While the working poor remain latch-keyed buried beneath the bowels of the belly of the beast, drowning to death in

a city without pity/Where the cost of living is rising so fast/No-one can remember what a life is really worth/So]

There aren’t enough lifeboats,

And women and children get tossed OVERBOARD/Headfirst free-falling/From freeway overpasses into the face of oncoming

traffic/And it’s tragic/How nobody notices the tragedy of this travesty/Until 2 women are murdered in public/By their lov-

ers/In the same week/And the life of a little 2 year old baby boy is sacrificed for the afternoon entertainment of your local

neighborhood ice-head/Floating like an ice-berg/Sinking somebody’s child into darkness

There aren’t enough lifeboats

So I’m trying/To learn from Plato’s dialogues and do what little I can to turn the tide/I’m trying/To make a difference in the

indifferent/I’m trying to teach teens how to wear their scars like life jackets/Use their pens as life preservers/And let art

be an outlet from an almost certain self destruction/I’m trying to build lifeboats

So on Wednesdays/I teach creative writing at a program for adjudicated incarcerated juvenile delinquent teens,

[Ranging in age from a pregnant 13 year old former ice-head (in her 2nd trimester)/To an 18 year old homeless gang-banger

with more Bloods in his fam, than relatives in his family]

And ALL of my students have been convicted of drug charges/Most are non-violent offenders/Some are 1st timers/Ex-addicts/

Ex-dealers/Ex-gangsters & graff-heads/But every single one of them is trying to stay clean/Clean enough to stay in the pro-

gram/Long enough to graduate

But motivating a room of adjudicated incarcerated juvenile delinquent drug offenders of varying traumas, and learning levels,

to write ANYTHING, especially their own life’s stories/Isn’t as easy as it might sound

“Yo Mr. T!/I don’t want to fucking write shit, and you can’t make me”/“Besides, I don’t even know what the fuck to

write”/“And who gives a fuck if I write anyway?”

So I answer and repair these betrayed broken self esteem engines/By writing 2 words on the board:/“VALUE YOURSELF”

Because you have a story/But nobody’s gonna listen until you learn how to tell it/So don’t bother saving your breath

Your story is worth writing because your life is worth living/And any life that’s worth living is worthy of a story

[Every book is a story somebody felt was worth writing/Every movie is a story somebody felt was worth telling/Every song

“...So I answer and repair these betrayed broken self esteem engines

By writing 2 words on the board:

"VALUE YOURSELF"

Because you have a story

But nobody’s gonna listen until you learn how to tell it

So don’t bother saving your breath

Your story is worth writing because your life is worth living

And any life that’s worth living is worthy of a story

[Every book is a story somebody felt was worth writing

Every movie is a story somebody felt was worth telling

Every song is a story somebody felt was worth singing out loud to the fucking

world]

So value yourself and be somebody that lets the world know that you existAnd

when you die....

“Sink or Swim” by TravisT (04/04/08)

i s a story somebody felt

was worth singing out loud to the fucking world]

So value yourself and be somebody that lets the world know that you exist/Let the world know

that you are still here, despite every moment that’s crashed on your soul like a fist/Manifest your

existence/And tell your biography by writing it yourself/ ’Cause if you can write your own life’s

story, you can write a happy ending/And when you’re 6 feet under/No-one’s ever gonna give you a pen

again/So write your story, speak your story, be your own hero, be your own lifeboat/’Cause despite what

your parole officer and your drug counselor tell you/This world/This city doesn’t give a fuck whether you

sink or swim/Trying to survive in the grind of a 9-5/Or live drowning in ice/And when you die

All that remains to remind the world that you were ever here/Is what you leave behind/Even

it’s just a story/Locked away in a safe like a Titanic diamond the size of the

heart of the sea/But open your heart, don’t lock it/Fight for your

life/Clear your throat like a gun that needs cocking/

And scream if you need to/Laugh if it

suits you/But use your

“Kealoha” started a movement that has been sweeping the under-ground world of poery. Starting the HawaiiSlam Division, which now has the highest attendence in the nation, for writers to express their words. He is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, more formely known as M.I.T. with a degree in engineering...

5 years

What was the hook that caught the eye of the fish of interest in this art that flows orally from the mouth?

That’s just it, spoken word doesn’t have a hook its all about the lyricist of poetry. “Slam poetry is the

brainchild of Marc Smith and blue collar intellectual eccentrics who crammed into the Get Me High

lounge on Monday nights from November 1984 to September 1986 for a wide-poem poetry experi-

ence.” (Complete Idiots Guide to Slam Poetry) Based out of Chicago, Illinois this new genre of

poetry was created to draw public interest in poetry readings by relying heavily in audience involvement

and poetic excellence.“Slam poetry is the brainchild of Marc Smith...”

SLAMdef. - to shut forcefully and loudly

poetrydef.- a form of expression... etc.

Hawai`iSlam & FirstThursdays


Let the world know that you are still here, despite every moment that’s crashed on your

soul like a fi stManifest your existenceAnd tell your biography by writing it yourself

’Cause if you can write your own life’s story, you can write a happy

endingAnd when you’re

6 feet underNo-one’s ever gonna give you a pen againSo write your story, speak your story, be

your own hero, be your own lifeboat

’Cause despite what your parole offi cer and

your drug counselor tell you

This worldThis city doesn’t give a fuck whether you sink

or swimTrying to survive in the

grind of a 9-5Or live drowning in ice

20

03

20

03

20

03

20

03

20

03

20

03

20

03

20

03 . . . t o 2 0 0 8

April’s Grand Slam event will feature

Jay KaneaiaSela

KealohaLyz SotoDar’ron

StriIntrepid

Alex ArmstrongTravisT

Liam SkillingTui ScanlanVince MuraiApril 2008, is a huge month for First Thursday as

well as Youth Speaks Hawaiì because April is the month of champions. Those Champions will travel to the mainland to represent the state in a National competion as well as host shows and assemblies at

different venues throughout the state.

National Team 2008

FINALISTS

These events are multifunctional, exhibiting not only the art of the poets but also a different live D.J., live artists, other performers (for example singers like Paula Fuga), and even massage therapists. The atmosphere is really a

welcoming, mellow scene, where everyone seems to be enjoying

The operation of a poetry slam is quite simple really; it’s a competitive event fi rst off so all those who want to compete let the host know. The host fi nds fi ve audience members who would like to be judges (who will base their scores off of their own response and not the crowds). From here we have a three round competition, where highest scores for the round move forward. The rules for the poets are seldom as well, they must write their own poems and are not allow props, costumes, or musical instruments, just themselves. Usually, there is a three-minute limit, especially at the certifi ed events such as First Thursdays.

In Hawaii Slam poetry hasn’t really hit the mainstream until 2003 and even then it is

still something right under the surface. Steve “Kealoha” Wong founded HawaiiSlam which

is a non-profi t organization dedicated to showcasing poets from the islands. Every fi rst

Thursday of the month a poetry slam is put on at Hawaiian Hut in the Ala Moana Hotel.

This event is the largest certifi ed competition in the world, with an average attendance of

approximately 600 people every month.

In 2005, I also started up a local non-prophet (501c3)

called Youth Speaks Hawaiì that provides free creative

writing and poetry workshops for teenagers across O'ahu.

HawaiìSlam & FirstThursdaysYouth Speaks Hawaii






- Dar’ron






-Alex Armstrong








THEY CAN SPEAK FOR

THEMSELVES


new layout.indd 1 5/5/08 6:11:35 PM · “slam poem = the first poem I ever wrote for the specific...

Documents

Transcript of new layout.indd 1 5/5/08 6:11:35 PM · “slam poem = the first poem I ever wrote for the specific...