Something I put in someone else's journal about Slam
"If the Barack Obama of Slam may have a word:
I have always been very careful to draw a line between what I contend with regarding Slam and what I contend with regarding poets. Trust me: Slam does not have drama on lock. Plenty of open mics and readings are filled to bursting with pettiness and bad art. It is to be expected of a populist avenue.
Not that I don't think a lot of that sort of thing can't be avoided. I help run one of the biggest love fests masquerading as a poetry night there is, but that took hard work. It's easy to be petty. I always implore as many people as possible to understand that that stuff isn't Slam or poetry's fault. It's just those people being people at that point in time at that place.
Steve Marsh - who as you know started the second-oldest slam ever and is one of the smartest people on the planet - has really instilled in me a need to pursue this thing of Slam for what joy it can bring. That took a minute to sink in because, as you also know, joy does not usually follow the results of slams for many people. At the same time we should always bear in mind what it was like to approach the beast, to see it stomping around the field and opt to ride its back.
One of Slam's chief beauties is that it pretty much allows for the agendas of all who come to her without losing any of its merit (except in cases where people define its merit through their agenda alone). The asshole and the argonaut can both be there and both be lauded and both be valid.
But you shouldn't have to contend with an agenda that does not jibe with your own. Many poets who walk away from Slam do so not because they're so scary smart or good, but because they are people with fragile parts prone to breakage during shipping on the way to a better Them.
I will never walk away from Slam. It has done for me what few things have done in this life. I've made it my mission to instill that goal in as many people I come into contact with in Slam as reasonably possible. The fun in Slam isn't missing..it's still there. Fun can't be legislated. Believe me: I was devastated when the Rust Belt caught its first protest EVER last year. I was in shock. Fortunately for everyone involved, I had no standing in the event, 'cause I'd have let that joy dragon the fuck out.
The fun in Slam is right there in front of your face. What do you think all of the other people at these events are smiling and clapping and hugging about? They're not all ass-kissers. The fun is right there, man.
You just have to have it."
I have always been very careful to draw a line between what I contend with regarding Slam and what I contend with regarding poets. Trust me: Slam does not have drama on lock. Plenty of open mics and readings are filled to bursting with pettiness and bad art. It is to be expected of a populist avenue.
Not that I don't think a lot of that sort of thing can't be avoided. I help run one of the biggest love fests masquerading as a poetry night there is, but that took hard work. It's easy to be petty. I always implore as many people as possible to understand that that stuff isn't Slam or poetry's fault. It's just those people being people at that point in time at that place.
Steve Marsh - who as you know started the second-oldest slam ever and is one of the smartest people on the planet - has really instilled in me a need to pursue this thing of Slam for what joy it can bring. That took a minute to sink in because, as you also know, joy does not usually follow the results of slams for many people. At the same time we should always bear in mind what it was like to approach the beast, to see it stomping around the field and opt to ride its back.
One of Slam's chief beauties is that it pretty much allows for the agendas of all who come to her without losing any of its merit (except in cases where people define its merit through their agenda alone). The asshole and the argonaut can both be there and both be lauded and both be valid.
But you shouldn't have to contend with an agenda that does not jibe with your own. Many poets who walk away from Slam do so not because they're so scary smart or good, but because they are people with fragile parts prone to breakage during shipping on the way to a better Them.
I will never walk away from Slam. It has done for me what few things have done in this life. I've made it my mission to instill that goal in as many people I come into contact with in Slam as reasonably possible. The fun in Slam isn't missing..it's still there. Fun can't be legislated. Believe me: I was devastated when the Rust Belt caught its first protest EVER last year. I was in shock. Fortunately for everyone involved, I had no standing in the event, 'cause I'd have let that joy dragon the fuck out.
The fun in Slam is right there in front of your face. What do you think all of the other people at these events are smiling and clapping and hugging about? They're not all ass-kissers. The fun is right there, man.
You just have to have it."