WHY POETRY MATTERS

It would be quite easy for you to see poetry as an art form to be irrelevant.  Many see art as excessive, unnecessary, and a waste of time, money and resources especially when its compared to the social ills, deprivation and injustices taking place around the world. Many question whether poetry really add meaning and beauty to life or is it us who add meaning and beauty to poetry. Thus many dismiss its significance and miss the point of this art form. Poetry exposes and helps us resolve issues of social injustice, it helps humanize and realize the emotions, grievances and fears of those who lack place or opportunity to voice concerns. Poetry is the human voice that moves us, shake us, shock or inspire us to action. If we look back in history, we’ll see that art and especially poetry has always been deeply rooted in activism or social change

The past centuries are prevalent with examples of poets finding voice in circumstances that by all rights should have silenced them. Poetry does that, giving you the power to speak, digging through your silent screams, gathering self and finding form even when it seems impossible to do so. It gives you that voice to speak when you feel like you’ve lost your voice and makes the world listen. It shows you things that would normally go unnoticed, exposing the beauty hidden behind the dark and ugly in the world. Poetry says to you, you matter; you’re important even if no one else think so. It crawls into your soul and brings out your deepest emotion, that which you thought it was impossible to find words for.

Poetry says to you in the richest of language, something is wrong let’s change it for   the better. The world teaches us to hide our thought, our emotions, build our protective armour and hideaway our feelings, hide our selves, .but poetry allows you to strip through all of that and be incredibly vulnerable and human. And it’s not a vulnerability that makes you soft or weak but one that gives you real strength. That is why poetry is necessary, irreplaceable and of inherent value. It teaches us to notice things; it beautifies our language and enriches our communication. Rather than say “I became fearful,” poetry says “fear took hold of me or I crawled back into the safety of my skin”. It finds a way to place value, on the dignity, specificity and beauty of our individual lives. 

Also, writing poetry can be a form of therapy as it gives you the ability to express yourself   and process your feelings through the written word. Paul Engle said “Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Ninth power".  Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions; all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words.” It makes the ordinary extraordinary, and brings newness to common mundane things. Through the power of its rich artistic language; poetry is able to transcend barriers of creed, class or race and make a difference, because Poetry speaks for all. Poetry reminds us what it is to be human it gives breath and life to the longing, thoughts and ideas that had died inside us and cause us to dream again. It makes us see  more clearly, feel more deeply, live more fully. Poetry fulfills in us not just the need to speak but that human need to sing, this is the power of poetry, this is why poetry matters. 

Do Poetry matter to you??

HOPE THIS VIDEO SPEAKS TO YOU

POETRY IS LIFE AND LIFE IS POETRY

CLICK LINK HERE

 A BLENDING OF LIFE BREATH POETRY 

AND THE BLENDER 3D PROJECT

Hi Guys, well those that know me know that I love mixing the various art forms because I believe all art is connected. However, when Deryck approached me about a collaboration with my blog “Life Breath Poetry” and his “The Blender 3D Project”, I thought to hmm as I had no idea what on earth was “Blender” and how to even go about a collaboration with something so alien to me, and how was I going to connect this to poetry. Well in every situation that confronts you, in every experience you learn and grow. I came to understand that the “Blender 3D Project is about a soft ware name “Blender” which is used for 3D Modelling. 3D Modelling is really about the creation, designating and manipulating of images created in a computer. 

Other features include: video editing, animation and video games creation which I found to be pretty interesting. Basically, this is art and anything involving art is cool by me. Well, I decided to give it a go, so we came together and made a decision that he will video tape me reciting a poem and he will take it from there. Being a poet I of course had a collection of written work at hand, so I sent a few to choose from of which he choose one titled “These Hands”, so we came together before class and well, this was the result.

CLICK LINK HERE

Pretty Cool I think.

What do you think? Will love to hear your opinion!

ALL ARTS ARE AN EXTENTION OF POETRY

COLLABORATION WITH JANELLE OF:
"SOMETHING NEW" AND "LIFE BREATH POETRY"

THE MAGIC OF POETRY IS IN THE NEW!!

Hi folks, well it’s all about that new experience; that letting go and allowing yourself to experience new things. When Janelle ask me to do a collaboration with her about experiencing something new, I thought hey why not, that should be easy because I remember then, that this is what poetry is about, seeing the new in the everyday things, so I quickly agreed and I was not disappointed. as it turned out great. When you think about it, poetry function the same as life. Each poem was once a blank page on which we sketched something surprising and new just like our life. A poem tends to focus on the new, taking the familiar and drudgery things of life and making it new. When we look at life, each day is like a blank page given to us to write a new chapter in our life.  Remember when we were young and the world was filled of first times, the first time we went to school, rode a bus or rode on a plane? Think about the excitement you felt and how your mind was suffused with new thoughts and feelings as you experience these new and different things. Just because we are grown up now and have been there and done that does not mean there aren’t any more new things out there to experience.

The world is a pretty big place and there are interesting things all around us. We just need to find our muse by going out there and find new thing that we can experience. One’s destination may not necessarily a place but a new way of seeing things. According to Friedrich Nietzsche, original minds are not distinguished by being the first to see a new thing but instead by seeing the old familiar things that is over-looked as something new. It’s about exploring different options, searching the corners of your mind and allowing yourself to find new ideas and inspiration that would entice your muse to come out and play, life becomes interesting and colourful this way. 

Poetry is much the same way too, it searches out new ideas and find new ways in seeing the things of life, be it love, tragedy or heart break, poetry can take that and turn it around into something surprising and new. Poetry goes beyond the vision of ordinary life; she hears the grass grow and the hummingbird’s heartbeat and can hear the silence roar. In poetry just as in life, when you change the way you look at things the things you look at change and becomes new. This is demonstrative of the magic and power of poetry, to see things that lie beneath the surface and expose the hidden and by taking the ugly in life and beautifying it or show the beauty that was always there but hidden, it’s simply seeing beyond the ordinary.  So let’s live our lives poetically, try your hands at something different, like painting, canoeing, dancing or even writing a poem.  Explore new ideas and experiencing new things, this is life, because Poetry is life and Life is Poetry.  

CLICK LINK HERE TO SEE COLLABORATION

Poetry can be dangerous, especially beautiful poetry, because it gives the illusion of having had the experience without actually going through it. ― Rumi

Thanks Janelle for this collaboration.

Don't forget to check out Janelle Collins's Blog "Something New" 

by clicking the link above!!

 A COLLABORATION OF: 
"THE DANCE PROJECT"AND "LIFE BREATH POETRY"

Hello everyone and welcome. I did my first collaboration with Tahirah Leacock of the Dance Project after realizing how these two art form interlink and how much they had in common. This collaborated effort was quite interesting, I was suppose to write and recite the poem while Tahirah dance to the poetic rhythm. Well last minutes we did a quick change and I ended up dancing with her, which worked out well. Below is my poem that Tahirah danced to. Hope you enjoy my poem and this lovely pic of her dancing and do check out her page by clicking the link above and enjoy the video.

DANCING IS POETRY IN MOTION

Words cascading across ivory sheets

Flowing, spinning, swaying

Tap, tap, tapping poetic feet

Dance, dance, dance with fervour

Dance, dance, dance with life

Move to the rhythmic beat

Rhythm rising, passion surging

As rhymes take flight

Tap, tap, taping

Flowing, spinning, swaying

Moving fluid as words 

Creating meaning as they flows

Dance, dance, dance with life

Flowing calm and graceful as an ocean

Dancing is poetry in motion

CLICK LINK HERE TO SEE VIDEO OF COLLABORATION

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance - Carl Sandburg

It is understood that art is the most expressive form of human emotions, be it painting, drawing, music, dancing and yes, poetry. Poetry as an art form is emotive; it uses artistic language to speak as it expresses an idea, relates a story or simply convey an emotion. Poetry is about music, rhythm, beat, flow and movement through the usage of words. Whether it is oral or written, words create rhythm and flow, each word or line creating a beat; it's like doing a dance on page. Like dance, poetry is about motion, and expression, because art is expressive. Actually, poetry and dance is quite similar in this respect as they're both highly emotive and expressive. Both art forms have the ability to capture a single experience or moment in time in a very intrinsic and visceral way. Poetry and dance are as close as humanity comes to a direct expression of the soul. So when next you feel the need to communicate an idea, feeling or emotion, just write a poem, scribble some words and spill some rhymes and if you can't write, just dance.

The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word

Don't forget to check out the collaboration of Dance and Poetry by clicking link above! 

Dance is Poetry in motion!

Thanks Tahirah for this beautiful experience!

INTERVIEW WITH MTIMA SOLWAZI 

OF SPOKEN WORD CONCERT 

"CASCADOO" 

OK people, I had previously promise  to have an interview with two very interesting people in the area of Spoken Word Poetry:Mr. Mtima Solwazi host of the annual Spoken Word Concert "CASCADOO" and Ms. Rachael Collymore host of that very conscious and revolutionary concert "SYNERGIA"which combines spoken word poetry with music, song and painting. Well, I was unable to catch up with Ms. Collymore as she was tied up with business but I did manage to grab a quick interview with Mr. Solwazi while on his way to a Poetic Workshop. Mtima has been hosting this spoken word concert for the last five plus years, giving a platform and voice to the young or voice-less in our society. CASCADOO is a very powerful and influential spoken word concert and is an extension of a local organization call "ROOTS FOUNDATION". This organization is also run by Mr Solwazi, in the effort of not only empowering youths through the art-form of Spoken Word Poetry which gives them a voice to speak their concerns, but also, showcasing our Oral Tradition, bringing it to the forefront as he aims to keep alive the art form of our local Oral Traditions. The concert CASCADOO include not only local spoken-word artist but also foreign artists of various background from various corners of the globe, as they bring with them their diverse poetic styles and flavour. It's all about empowerment through the art-form of Spoken Word Poetry. Mtima will tell you more as you look at the interview. Just click to play.

A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep. – Salman Rushdie

Thanks for viewing

Remember keep checking my blog for updates on next year's CASCADOO concert

As I always say "Poetry is Life and Life is Poetry

  

GIVING CLARITY TO FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Hi folks, in an earlier post, I spoke a little bit about the language of poetry being figurative language. Another word used for figurative language is Figure of Speech sometimes called poetic devices, so if you should hear any of these phrases you know that they are referring to figurative language. In this post I want to look at some of the basic poetic devices used in poetry such as: Metaphor, Simile, Hyperbole, Personification and Symbolism, Onomatopoeia, Alliteration and Assonance. But first:

First a short video to give you some more insight into poetry and the use of figurative language and the way it empowers poetry.

Here are some figurative Language/Figure of Speech and their meaning at least the basic ones that you should be familiar with as they are the more popular ones used. The words in bold italic are the primary focus and main thing to remember about these devices.

Hyperbole- is simply an exaggeration e.g. I am so hungry, I can eat a horse.

Personification- This is when you apply human qualities to lifeless or animated objects  e.g ‘The television shouts from the corner of the room’

Onomatopoeia - this is employing the use of words that represent sound

Symbolism- Well, this is simply something used to represent something else,

Alliteration- is the repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words, or the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words

Assonance- is the repetition of vowel (a e i o u) sounds in words or phrases

These are just a few as there are many other figures of speech used in creating poetry which is aimed at beautifying and empowering the craft and these devices or figure of speech are used in our daily conversations which just goes to show how poetry is a natural part of life and lives in our everyday speech. As I always say, “Poetry is life and Life is Poetry”. What's interesting is that these poetic Devices /Figures of Speech are so commonly used by us that they can even be found in the songs we listen to and the movies we watch. Don’t believe me? Take a look!

Here are two short videos that demonstrates this, the first shows how these devices are used in movies.

This second one shows how they are even used in songs. How about you give it a go and try to figure-out the figure of speech used as they go along

Hope this gives you a clearer picture or understanding of figurative language and the fact that Poetry is not something out there beyond our reach, but part of our daily  life. 

POETRY IS LIFE AND LIFE IS POETRY!!

POETS ARE THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE AND THE EXPRESSION OF SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS

"The arts can make us act, and we need action in response to the threats, and the realities of climate change"

Those are powerful words from award-winning St Lucian poet Kendel Hippolyte, speaking at the launch of a Caribbean campaign on Climate Justice at the Orchid Garden here last Thursday evening dubbed “The1point5tostayalive”. The purpose of this campaign was is to raise awareness, momentum and popular support in favour of the Caribbean’s negotiating position in the lead-up to the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to be held in Paris in December.

 Climate impacts -- including elevated temperatures, sea level rise, changing rainfall patterns, more intense droughts, storms, and ocean acidification, all pose grave risks to coastal lands, water supply, agriculture, biodiversity, fisheries and other sectors and assets. But it goes beyond this as climate change threatens the very existence of some Caribbean islands. 

The poet, who has a long history of engagement in social and environmental justice, on Thursday called on “musicians, painters, dancers, writers, all artists to become involved in this campaign by using their arts, their shows, their websites, their Face book accounts and their concerts” in the coming weeks, to join the call of Panos Caribbean and its partners for Climate Justice for the Caribbean. .In particular, he called for participation in a weekend of action on 31 October – 1 December, a month prior to the start of the Paris Conference.

This is just another demonstration of the significance and power of poetry and the relevance of poets in societies as “the voice of the people and the expression of social consciousness. 

All poets, all writers are political. They either maintain the status quo, or they say, ’Something’s wrong, let’s change it for the better.’ – Sonia Sanchez

This is going to blow you away when you find out the truth about poetry; how easy it is to write if you will just simply be true to your emotions.

The famous poet Robert Frost said; “Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” 

Another famous poet William Wordsworth called poetry "the spontaneous overflow of feelings." You see, it's all about putting feelings into words; carefully chosen words that reflect you truest emotions.

When writing; the writer must capture emotions experienced in a significant moments or event, it may be untouched memories lying just below our consciousness, hidden from public scrutiny that which we try to hide even from ourselves. Let them flow freely with every word and gesture. We all have this abundance of raw material for writing if we could just harness it.

LOOK AT THE VIDEO 

THEN TRY THIS EMOTIONAL PROMPT 
JUST FREE YOUR EMOTIONS AND LET IT SING

Creative moment Emotion Prompt

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

• After looking at this short video, make a list of the emotions you feel
• Choose one of the emotions.
• Don't name the emotion but describe it in detail and with lots of concrete images a (how does it look, how does it make you feel?)
• Personify this emotion. If it were a person, what would it do? (Try "emotion + verb.") Example: My heart sings with euphoric laughter.   
• Write a simile (x is like y; my love is like a red, red rose).
• Write a metaphor (x is y; my love is a red, red rose).

DON'T BE SHY GO AHEAD AND TRY, IT'S EASY!
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOU'LL BE WRITING POETRY
Wait a minute, did that just rhyme? Dam I'm good lol

                                                                                                                                                      

IN MEMORY OF ANSON

FAREWELL ANSON WE WILL REMEMBER YOU

Writers Union of Trinidad and Tobago (WUTT) had its National Poetry Day Celebration on Saturday 17th October in memory of Poet Laureate Anson Gonzalez. The evening was spent with readings of his work and a presentation by Dr. Rose-Ann Walker, writer and educator who was personally mentored by Anson. The evening went nicely and our guest speaker Dr Walker really spiced up the evening with her spunky, interesting personality. There were some other "Big Names" who read in his honour as well, though I can't remember their names. I also read a poem that I had recently written in honour of Anson, very short and sweet but effective in conveying the message that he will forever live on in his work and in the many seeds of love he had planted.

This is Dr Ross-Ann Walker reading a poem   

written for Anson by Ms Jennifer Rahim.

These are the two other Big Names I mention,                           

 the lady in the middle is a Dr.

And of course, this is me doing my reading, honouring Anson with my poem. This was an unplanned thing though, as I had class that day and was in class, when I was asked to read via a message on face book. Yeah for the power of face book, go social media. Anyway, I was glad to be part of this as I too was mentored by this great man for a short period before he migrated.                                                                                                    

MY POEM IN HONOUR OF ANSON GONZALEZ

THE MASTER IS GONE

After he left

Mouths could not speak

Limbs stood frozen

Eyes became filled

And all lamented his leaving

Then, laughter rang out

And praises resonate

Echoes of euphoric memories

As fingers caressed ink-stained pages

Even the silence spoke

In celebrant jubilee

And New Voices shouted from dusty shelves

Reminiscence of his labour of love and mastery

Evidence of his immortality

By Cheryl Griffith

Another Unsung Hero Gone

The great wordsmith and revered master of the pen Anson Gonzales, has left us. Anson who was critically ill, struggling with a heart condition for some time, eventually surrendered to the battle on September 6^th not long after leaving Trinidad and migrating to Wales.  Anson is known for his great contribution towards the development and sustenance of the literary culture of Trinidad and the Caribbean.  He was Founder of the “New Voices” in 1973 which actively ran for 20 years with published works from Anson himself, along with hundreds of Caribbean writers. This poetry journal, give voice and a stage to many young poets some of which are established authors today, such as Jennifer Rahim.  Interestingly, he ran a bookshop from his home where he actually did all the printing and editing for the various New Voices’ Journals

There was also a radio programme and other publications as well, like the New Voices News letter which conveyed information on writers, competitions, workshops, grants and more. Anson was also Co-founder and former president of the Writers’ Union of T&T (WUTT) but Anson did not stop there, in 1979 Anson went on to establish National Poetry Day, which is celebrated on October 15, initially in T&T and now in eight other Caribbean territories. He also taught creative writing courses and workshops across the Caribbean, some of which I was honoured to be a part of and he sat as judge for many poetry and literary competitions across the region.

This great man had a natural knack for creativity and dabbled in various art forms such as dancing and photography as well as acting. He did some acting with Trinidad Theater Workshop and even tried his hands as a director and made some appearance in several Dimanche Gras productions as well.

WE CELEBRATE MASTER ANSON GONZALEZ, A FORMER TEACHER OF UWI, FOR HIS POETRY, HIS LABOUR OF LOVE AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE LITERARY ART; HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED, A FIXED FIGURE IN OUR MEMORY, FOREVER IMMORTALIZED IN PAGES.

BELOW ARE PHOTOS OF MYSELF AND OTHER MEMBERS OF "THE CIRCLE OF POETS" HAVING BREAKFAST AT ANSON GONZALEZ'S HOUSE. THIS WAS A THREE DAYS POETRY WORK SHOP ANSON HELD AT HIS HOUSE AS HE MENTORS US IN THE LITERARY ART OF POETRY. WE WERE GIVEN CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION AT THE END OF THE WORK SHOP. THIS IS THE PASSION THIS MAN HAD FOR THE LITERARY ART

INHALE THE EXPERIENCE EXHALE POETRY

NOW LET THE POEM SPEAK!

Hi everyone hope you enjoy this post, "INHALE THE 

EXPERIENCE EXHALE POETRY" in this poem called 

"SPEAKING OUT", the poem gives me a voice to speak 

and exhale my life's experience. 

This is a picture taken of me via phone and 

some graphic work was done to create the look of rain falling 

as I exhale.

SPEAKING OUT

This poem?

This poem strives to bring reason

Straining beyond the agony of words

Stretching beyond the deep, dark tunnel of time

Where emptiness leeks

And sorrow sucks your spirit dry

Draining your blood like, a leech

Struggling to face life’s task

Forced to wear a mask

Clear my throat and move on

Coughing up courage mixed with hope

To go where fate demands

And walk this road not made with human hands

This poem has turn frail, tired eyes

On years of sweat and tears and kept her peace

Forever bearing a smile

That hides the pain that lies behind

Silently sobbing out her sorrows

Like clothes beating against stone till white

This poem has taken much

And will not be hushed

This poem will speak!!

But at the edge of the heart, wisdom is weak

Are words enough?

This poem is not about metaphors, similes and such

This poem too deep

This poem has spent nights in hell

Bears the scars of scorching fire and live to tell

 Where demons shadow swallowing your peace

Devouring your flesh, your sleep

And fear pours thick and yellow

Like pus from a septic sore

Obscuring all beauty

Yet forced to hold my head up high

And walk with dignity

A dignity that didn’t come easy

But came through strain and age

Much poverty, rejection and lamentation

Too much to put upon this page

 I this poem say;

I’ve paid my bills of pain and sorrow

And cashed my share of tear-filled tomorrows

Forever gathering my life like scattered leaves 

Yes! I took all that life spurned

But earned a peace that many yearn

Many are dead, their dreams silenced

At least I have a heart to grieve 

And why is it that human tenderness is usually late?

Like long, lost mails

And when it comes at time so frail

The fact is, humans are as complicated as the truth

This whole world is a market of doom

And I have had too many gloom

Seen too many setting suns and dark rough seas

It’s time! This time the sun will rise for me

Me; God’s blessed clad in regal dignity

Had fallen, broken body

A somewhat paralyzing deformity

Joy it seems is fused in misery

A cruel irony

Something evil is always aiming at your smile

But I will stand again

Like a star that brightens dark skies

 I will shine again

I, like a broken bird will fly again

And dance upon the walls of this world

That tried to imprison me

For I am Free!

By Cheryl Griffith