Another work of art that relates to Slam Poetry is the music genre of rap. You could easily argue that slam and rap are nearly the same thing. Both consist of words spoken in a rhythmic manner that let out the emotions or opinions of the speaker. They are also both written to be preformed for a live audience. Slam poems though, differ from rap music. First of all, slam poems can be seen more as a form of literature than rap can. It is accepted by teachers, and older members of society. It is clear that the words of Slam Poems have great meaning to them. When rap is heard by the older folks, they usually want it turned off immediately. This is most likely because of the stereotypes associated with rap music in both how rap is seen, (sex and violence), and how the rapper himself looks (“badass” gangster, who doesn't live by the rules). Slam poetry contests also do not allow music. Rap always has some sort of background beat, where as slam poems they have nothing but the sound of their voice. Slam Poetry can attract a larger fan base as well. Both the rap music fans, and the people more fond of poetry and literature will be able to appreciate this type of art.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Rap vs. Slam Poetry
Another work of art that relates to Slam Poetry is the music genre of rap. You could easily argue that slam and rap are nearly the same thing. Both consist of words spoken in a rhythmic manner that let out the emotions or opinions of the speaker. They are also both written to be preformed for a live audience. Slam poems though, differ from rap music. First of all, slam poems can be seen more as a form of literature than rap can. It is accepted by teachers, and older members of society. It is clear that the words of Slam Poems have great meaning to them. When rap is heard by the older folks, they usually want it turned off immediately. This is most likely because of the stereotypes associated with rap music in both how rap is seen, (sex and violence), and how the rapper himself looks (“badass” gangster, who doesn't live by the rules). Slam poetry contests also do not allow music. Rap always has some sort of background beat, where as slam poems they have nothing but the sound of their voice. Slam Poetry can attract a larger fan base as well. Both the rap music fans, and the people more fond of poetry and literature will be able to appreciate this type of art.
Slam by Me
Fragile Glass Wall
Let's talk about women.
I know everyone's got them on their minds,
I know we all got them in our hearts,
And if you are a woman,
you got it all over the place.
Now I'm not saying just any old girl.
Not just that woman you saw,
Strolling the sidewalk,
Running and sweating,
Her i pod headphone wires danging,
bouncing along with her.
No, not her.
The one you saw at the hardware store,
The one with the blond hair
Up in pig tails,
Soft white skin shimmering
in the glow from the lighting department.
The one that you might as well
Put a lollipop in her mouth
Just because it seemed it belonged there
The one you might as well put a wall up in front of
with a sign that reads,
“You can look, but don't you dare touch.”
But you know in reality that even looking
will get you in just as much trouble.
But if somehow you do manage to break through.
Slam, shatter and just destroy that glass wall,
You know you'll be able to see her vicious grin
reflected up at you in every single piece.
So men,
be sure to have your broom and dustpan ready,
So you can clean up any mess that you might make.
Explaination:
For my created piece of art, I have decided to come up with my own slam poem. Doing this was an easy task, as Slam Poetry is really just saying what's in your head. Of course I didn't just write it and it was done, I needed to tweak it a bit here and there, but essentially that's all there was to it. It was actually pretty fun. I don't think I'll be preforming it on stage anything soon though. Simply my poem is saying that guys these days always go for the girls they know they can't have, the ones who are simply out of their league. They ignore the “normal” girls, and spend their time drooling over the super models. In reality though, these goddesses aren't even right for them. They may be snobby, or selfish, or just plain rude. From a distance though, the girls are just works of art to the men and that's ll they see. Then before they know it, they can be stuck in a horrible relationship regretting their decision. The work could be described as a Slam Poem because I have taken something from society, and took a little stab at it, let my opinion about it out there. I tried placing the lines so that you might be able to get a feeling from it by just reading it, rather than it being preformed. (I don't think I have the voice for that.) I hope you enjoy it. :]
Let's talk about women.
I know everyone's got them on their minds,
I know we all got them in our hearts,
And if you are a woman,
you got it all over the place.
Now I'm not saying just any old girl.
Not just that woman you saw,
Strolling the sidewalk,
Running and sweating,
Her i pod headphone wires danging,
bouncing along with her.
No, not her.
The one you saw at the hardware store,
The one with the blond hair
Up in pig tails,
Soft white skin shimmering
in the glow from the lighting department.
The one that you might as well
Put a lollipop in her mouth
Just because it seemed it belonged there
The one you might as well put a wall up in front of
with a sign that reads,
“You can look, but don't you dare touch.”
But you know in reality that even looking
will get you in just as much trouble.
But if somehow you do manage to break through.
Slam, shatter and just destroy that glass wall,
You know you'll be able to see her vicious grin
reflected up at you in every single piece.
So men,
be sure to have your broom and dustpan ready,
So you can clean up any mess that you might make.
Explaination:
For my created piece of art, I have decided to come up with my own slam poem. Doing this was an easy task, as Slam Poetry is really just saying what's in your head. Of course I didn't just write it and it was done, I needed to tweak it a bit here and there, but essentially that's all there was to it. It was actually pretty fun. I don't think I'll be preforming it on stage anything soon though. Simply my poem is saying that guys these days always go for the girls they know they can't have, the ones who are simply out of their league. They ignore the “normal” girls, and spend their time drooling over the super models. In reality though, these goddesses aren't even right for them. They may be snobby, or selfish, or just plain rude. From a distance though, the girls are just works of art to the men and that's ll they see. Then before they know it, they can be stuck in a horrible relationship regretting their decision. The work could be described as a Slam Poem because I have taken something from society, and took a little stab at it, let my opinion about it out there. I tried placing the lines so that you might be able to get a feeling from it by just reading it, rather than it being preformed. (I don't think I have the voice for that.) I hope you enjoy it. :]
History of The Slam
The poetry slam movement began in the 1990s, as a way to emphasize the “spoken and preformed aspects” (poets.org) of poetry. The subject matter of the poems can be almost anything, as stated before, but the most popular of topics are “racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events…” (poets.org). The actual “poetry slam” is a competition where poets perform their work out loud to an audience. Most slam poems were written to be preformed in this way, and may not get the same applause if read from paper.
The first poetry slam was in 1986 by a poet named Marc Smith in Chicago . Smith “was looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike poetry format.” (slampapi.com) The city soon heard of the weekly slam competitions, and soon a majority of the country knew about it. In the Get Me High Lounge, there were not too many rules, and the poets were free to express themselves. The competition has now gotten so big that there is actually a National Poetry Slam every year, attracting competitors from both Europe and the Americas .
Slam poetry competitions attract a diversity of people, both male and female, to perform. Most slam poets are usually young aspiring poets just beginning their career. Even though certain critics found slam poetry to be “flawed” (poetry.org) it did not stop poets from following the movement.
Sources:
Poetry.org
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5672
Slampapi.com
http://www.slampapi.com/new_site/background.htm
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam
The first poetry slam was in 1986 by a poet named Marc Smith in Chicago . Smith “was looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike poetry format.” (slampapi.com) The city soon heard of the weekly slam competitions, and soon a majority of the country knew about it. In the Get Me High Lounge, there were not too many rules, and the poets were free to express themselves. The competition has now gotten so big that there is actually a National Poetry Slam every year, attracting competitors from both Europe and the Americas .
Slam poetry competitions attract a diversity of people, both male and female, to perform. Most slam poets are usually young aspiring poets just beginning their career. Even though certain critics found slam poetry to be “flawed” (poetry.org) it did not stop poets from following the movement.
Sources:
Poetry.org
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5672
Slampapi.com
http://www.slampapi.com/new_site/background.htm
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam
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