Wham, bam, thank you poetry slam
Written
by Luis Pena
Thursday, 25 August 2005
Ottawa
plays host to monthly spoken word competitions; organizers try to go
mainstream without selling out
Slam poetry is one of the most interesting and engaging forms of the spoken
word.
The diversity of the topics is amazing as they cover anything you can possibly imagine.
In Ottawa there is an underground scene and it is one of most important in the country.
It all started with two local poets that wanted to bring more exposure to Ottawa's spoken word scene.
These two visionaries are Greg Frankson a.k.a. Ritallin and Elissa Molino, who created a collective focused on giving a different outlet for young poets to express their material.
"[Our
goal is to] create a scene that develops poets and develops slam poetry beyond
its niche market to the mainstream in terms of its knowledge, without being
corrupted by it either," said Ritallin.
As you can see this isn't an easy task to accomplish.
After all, how could you achieve a balance between the two?
How could you bring a spotlight to a somewhat unknown art, without sacrificing its integrity as an art form?
The answer came down to the creation of a monthly event that showcases young spoken word poets and allows them to compete for a spot on a team that represents Ottawa in the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
The collective contains 10 of the best spoken word poets in the country, like Kevin Matthews, Steve Sauvé, DJ Morales and many more.
This group isn't a clichéd group of poets that wear black turtlenecks and smoke French cigarettes.
These artists are everyday people that found a desire to share their art with whoever wants to listen.
As Kevin Matthews said, one of the goals of Capital Slam is to "continue with an ancient tradition that is underrated in our contemporary society."
The inspirations for the poets include their daily lives, political and social views and a desire to create an art form that pushes the envelope.
As soon as you see one of the members on stage you can see the love and dedication put into their cause.
There is still a struggle to balance the fact that it is really hard to make a decent living out of poetry and not selling out at the same time.
This collective has been able to maintain the art of spoken word poetry in its purest form without compromising its integrity, while enjoying national and local media recognition.
Many of the performers are competing for a cash prize and the possibility of going to the prestigious Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
The event also has a feature poet that usually is from out of town.
The next Capital Slam instalment is September 9 at the Gap of Dunloe. It will be a special event because it is the first of the monthly competitions for this year.
Ritallin convinced me to go to the next Capital Slam when he said, "Come on September 9 and have your mind blown."