New Spoken Word Series

Last week I heard from a talented young poet and spoken word artist who was frustrated with the "poetry slam" format as a way of presenting her work.  Her objection was how the three-minute time limit and the mindset of most competitors combine to restrict rather than broaden the range of expression.

She's right, if not about the value of poetry slams in general, then about the fact that they are not the best forums for the work of many poets and spoken word artists.

At the local slams I've attended, most competitors approach the constraints of the format with the same strategy: to utter as many syllables in as histrionic a fashion as 180 seconds will permit.  One might call this the "Red Bull effect"--the impression one gets that every contestant has consumed an entire six pack of the so-called "energy drink" before he or she took the stage, resulting in paroxysms of Extreme Talk.

Any competitor who opts for an understated or minimalist performance runs the risk of a puzzled response from his or her peers and the audience and likely first round elimination.  One can only wonder how a young John Cage or Jackson MacLow would fare in such a setting, but just once I'd love to see someone speak in a whisper or rant in randomly generated phonemes.

Fortunately for my young friend, a new showcase for spoken word poetry performance in Buffalo is in the offing.  Beginning at 8 p.m. this Sunday (June 17th), Allen Street Hardware Cafe', located at 245 Allen (near College Street) will present a weekly Sunday night spoken word series organized and hosted by versatile poet and spoken word artist Liz Mariani.   The format of '"Spoken Word Sundays" will feature performances by two invited spoken word artists each week, followed by (or alternating with) "open mic" performances obtained from a sign-up sheet that will be available prior to each event at 7:45 p.m.

Mariani is currently searching for "dynamic, positive, wordsmith/spoken word artists" to fill both the open mic and the featured artist slots. If you are interested, e-mail sample mp3s and other relevant attachments (i.e., a CV, other recordings, poetry manuscripts, etc.) to her at liz@lizmariani.com.

For additional information on the series, contact Mariani ia her e-mail address (above) or Allen Street Hardware proprietor Mark Goldman at Markgold46@hotmail.com or www.allenstreethardware.com.

Comments

[Carrie Gardner]

New Spoken Word Series:

Thank you. Well stated. Much needed. Greatly appreciated.