DID YOU SAY SLAM? OH SLAM POETRY!

No! Slam poetry is not slamming someone with poetry or slamming some poetry around. It’s much more than that.  Let’s start from the basics. It is clearly understood that written poetry and oral poetry are two completely different things altogether; one is in print while the other is voiced orally.   Oral poetry is not something new though, in fact; oral was there before print as poetry was something done orally in early civilizations. Oral poetry was used in many cultures across the globe package in various forms as a way of teaching children, passing on knowledge or information (in a simple or coded form) relaying history or praising heroes or God etc. 

Print came way after. Out of oral poetry came performance poetry, although it is somewhat the same but, with performance poetry especially in today’s times is a little different to long ago; you can employ music, dance, miming, drama and other  artistic elements rather than just voice it or sing it as was done in the past. And performance poetry is specifically composed for a performance before an audience. Today, performance poetry is even being used as a means to promote literacy in public school systems which I think is pretty cool. But the big thing now or I should say the ‘in thing’ is Slam Poetry.

There’s very little between the two; generally, if you incorporate music or dance it’s referred to as performance poetry because it’s all part of performing arts, whereas slam poetry tends to refer to spoken word poetry in a competition. The general format is that each poet performs their piece and gets judged by a panel of five members selected from the audience. Each performance is then scored out of ten.  At slam events you are judged on your performance, content and ability to memorize your poem. You get about three minutes to perform your poem and often in a slam you are not allowed props, music, dancing or anything that you would be allowed with performance poetry.

Put simply, slam poetry or poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry, with dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. Being a performing poet or slam poet takes a lot of practice and hard work to master the art, I have dabbled in both so I can tell you it's not easy, but it's do-able.  I was winner twice of the National Poetry Competition and have perform poetry in a number of places in Trinidad and Tobago. It can be fun so don't be afraid to give it a try.

HERE’S A VIDEO THAT CREATIVELY INTRODUCES YOU IN TO SLAM POETRY I KNOW YOU'LL ENJOY!

(The video is actually longer than the 2:27 minutes so if it reaches the end and stop just click at the end and it will continue)

THE PERFORMANCE OF POETRY IS AN ART JUST AS MUCH AN ART AS THE ART OF WRITING!

BELOW IS ANOTHER VIDEO WHICH SHOWS POETRY SLAM BEING USED AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR STUDENTS TO NOT ONLY DEVELOP THEIR VOICE AND SELF CONFIDENCE, BUT ALSO DEVELOP THEIR CRITICAL AND WRITING SKILLS AS THEY LEARN THE POWER OF WORDS

HEY IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN PERFORMING POETRY AND NEED SOME PERSONAL TIPS OR TUTORIAL, JUST MESSAGE ME

SO TIME FOR ME TO SLAM SOME POETRY

RACISM A UNIVERSAL NIGHTMARE

Madness, sadness

Hating, degrading

Dehumanizing

Humanity dying, dying

Die, die

Fight, fight

 To what end?

Twisted believes

Wounds unhealed

Each one bleeds, each one feels

Fear, such fear

Tears, such tears

Restless catastrophe

Past ideologies affecting the present

Wasted lives past away in strive

And hope's dreams night conceals

Red, yellow black, white

Straight hair, kinky hair

see here!

Colours, mere colours

Of inferiority and superiority

Violent ideologies, mad philosophies

Distorted facts

White good, bad black

On and on fighting, hating, killing

Humanity dying, dying

Ebony and ivory

No sight to see

Each man’s beauty and dignity

Each colour unique

God’s creation all

But who cares?!

Racism here

A universal nightmare! 

By Cheryl Griffith

  IN LIGHT OF THE RACIAL DIVIDE AFTER THE RECENT ELECTION

I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO STOP, THINK AND REALIZE

A SLICE OF POETRY

HAVE A SNACK 

MAN

Time bond fragile clay

Destiny’s soldiers

Stabbing the icy heart of time

Though you reign triumphantly

Ashes is your end 

By Cheryl Griffith

POETRY SPEAKS! ARE YOU LISTENING?

Here is a poem written by me which illustrates the hope of every parent, to protect their child from the cruelty of this world. And this is the power of poetry, giving voice to the heart.

LOSS OF INNOCENCE

Give me your hand child

This world is filled with too much weeping

More than you can understand

Oh child

I watched you sleeping and I cried

Then you awoke and embraced the world

With joyful greetings

Smiling sweetly as you play

Bouncing and leaping

Oh child

In your innocence you hold tomorrow

Wrapped in tiny fingernails and toes

So much I need to tell you child

But I must wait for you are young

And we both speak in a different tongue

Oh child

You see everything through unspoiled eyes

And time is not kind

So sorry that now you must learn

 This cruel world tells lies

By Cheryl Griffith

The singer Alicia Keys shows the power of Poetry

Yep, she is not just a singer but also a poet. But then song is a relative of poetry or a form of poetry so it's easy to switch between the two. 

"These are my most delicate thoughts. The ones that I wrote down just so I could understand what in the world these things I was thinking meant. It wasn't until going through my journals and notebooks that I realized how ready I am to share these secret thoughts. Some of them are painful; some of them are just observations, some silly, some that have affected me so deeply and with such frustration that the only way to express the confusion was to write it down."
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So if you haven't yet, check out her book "Tears For Water" 

Here is an excerpt from her book for you to enjoy!

PROSE VERSUS POETRY

Hi folks, so in my previous posts you got an idea of what poetry really is. Now, how does it differ from prose? Well, Poetry differs from prose in its conforming to meter, rhyme and music. Poetry is condensed and musical thought which technically can be fully developed, paraphrased and extended into prose. And prose can certainly be edited and condensed into poetry by skilled hands.

HOW DO YOU TELL THEM APART?   

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE PROSE FROM POETRY?? 

 Great question! There are many similarities and differences.

.

Let me make a list for you:

Both prose and poetry are literature that seeks to express a point. They are both artistic and require skill and lots of practice. So, from the point of view of creativity, artistry, and other literary points of view, there is much in common. So, we can say that there is very fine line between poetry and prose. What separates poetry from prose generally speaking are the followings:

The major difference is that poetry has line breaks. Another difference is in the form, or "rules", of poetry, such as meter, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, assonance, etc. poetry is governed by meter.

Poetry also tends to follow certain patterns, whether they be couplets, rhymes or other artistic conventions. Prose does not follow patters or better yet does not have to do so. Prose uses sentences and paragraphs while poetry uses lines and stanzas .Prose can be explained as words in their best order while Poetry is the best words in their best order!!

Poetry is about the isolation of feelings while prose is about accumulation. Amongst other things, prose is mainly an ethical project, while poetry tampers with truths which the world of prose takes for granted. Moreover, poetry is more expressive and attractive compared to the opposed usual dull quality of prose. And poetry is written in verse, while prose is written continuously.

There is something about poetry beyond prose logic, there is mystery in it, not to be explained but admired. — Edward Young

HERE IS A GREAT VIDEO THAT EASILY CLARIFIES THE TWO

Well, wasn't that interesting and exciting??

Oh no wait a minute! So what about Prose Poetry?

Prose poetry is neither prose nor poetry but a hybrid of the two. Prose poetry is poetry written in prose instead of using verse but preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery and emotional effects.

Hello everyone and welcome to my Blog 'LIFE BREATH POETRY'. This Blog aims to breath life into the beauty of poetry as an art form as poetry breath life into my Blog. Because Poetry is Life and Life is Poetry. With this blog I aim to draw you into the passion of the art form as I illustrate the magic and power of Poetry and entice you to embrace.

A POETIC MOMENT

Raining Thoughts

Thoughts drizzle from my brain 

Like rain daunting the sun

seeking to introduce his presence

Offering promises

And I, lingering in the moment

wondering, what he had to offer

Will he wash away my pain 

and bury my yesterdays in his out-pouring? 

Or storm my mangled emotions 

hurling out hurricanes

leaving me broken in his calm

Perhaps, he'll drizzle poetry

His breath warm and fragrant like the wind

whispering in my ear

caressing my mind with liquid fingers

Telling me to forget yesterday

See only today

And water it with change. 

BY CHERYL GRIFFITH