By Gillian Brunette
Workshops encourage the penning of poetry for the stage, not the page.
Spoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung.
That said, spoken word is quite often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker.
One such poet is Montreal’s Leonard Cohen, said Toronto journalist and performance poet David Silverberg, adding, “I always thought of hip hop as poetry. Your own Hawksley Workman too.”
Silverberg was conducting spoken word (otherwise known as slam or performance poetry) workshops for secondary schools across Muskoka last week. He introduced the students to the art form and its nuances and then challenged them to put together some of their own poetry.
April is national poetry month, and in keeping with its mandate to provide arts outreach education programs, the workshops were sponsored by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts in collaboration with the Muskoka Lakes Music Festival and the Arts Council of Muskoka.
Silverberg hosted workshops at Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School and Gravenhurst Secondary School, as well as Huntsville High School where he told Kirsten Corson’s class of Grade 12 university writer’s craft students that no lesson as such is needed to start writing performance poetry.
WORDS IN MOTION: David Silverberg, a master of the spoken word, chats with Huntsville High School Grade 12 students (from left) Victoria Brunner, Sarah Robertson and Kandis DaCosta, during a slam poetry workshop held at the school recently.
“It’s just words that are spoken. You don’t have to rhyme or use a meter. The best poems are the most honest poems, and whether it’s for the page or the stage it should be relevant to you,” said Silverberg.
“While Ode to Egg Nog (a poem presented as one example during the workshop) is fun, try to be more substantial. Don’t focus on the material or ephemeral. Write about a powerful moment that affected you personally. The goal is to be honest.”
Spoken word is not a mainstream art form and has only in recent years become recognized in Canada, despite its popularity south of the border, where it was born more than two decades ago.
“It’s not easy to do, but people who do it love it,” Silverberg said.
Poets have an avenue in which to present their endeavours, through spoken word competitions known as poetry slams.
“Poetry slams are where poets perform pieces on stage before a panel of judges,” explained Silverberg. “The judges at each event are picked from the audience just prior to the start, and they award marks from zero to 10 based on content and the performances.”
The poets can compete as individuals or with others. No props or costumes are allowed, but personal instrumentation (clapping, stamping for example) is acceptable. Each performance must be within three to 10 minutes and the pieces have to be original, said Silverberg.
“Spoken word can be anything and with that you can get garbage, but the beauty is that everything is accepted. Anyone can be a star that night.”
There is a movement in Canada and the United States to bring spoken word to music, said Silverberg. “Some (bands) are very bad, but two spoken word bands from Vancouver are bringing it into a more accepted arena.”
Silverberg began writing at an early age. “I was always writing short stories. In Grade 10, I dropped math for English,” he said. He went on to take journalism at Ryerson, which didn’t allow time for his personal writing. “I found writing a poem was a quick way to let loose emotionally and tell a story.”
In 2006, Silverberg started the Toronto Poetry Slam (this year’s finals are being held April 26 at Hugh’s Room on Dundas Street), and since then he has been working at bringing the art form to Ontario schools. More recently Silverberg has been editing an anthology of Canadian spoken word. Titled Mic Check, the collection of 28 poems will be released at the end of this month.
At the end of May Silverberg will be back in Huntsville and with other poets will host a performance workshop for the students at Sutherland Hall.
This will afford the budding poets an opportunity to perform before their peers and perhaps at the festival’s summer event, the Poetry Cafe.
To learn more about performance poetry in Toronto, go to: www.torontopoetryslam.com
