What is Performance Poetry?

One of the first links to poetry I found while perusing the inter-webs happened to be The Poetry Club, Mumbai. Their about me section on Facebook states - "We don't just write poetry, we perform it. The Poetry club meets every month. You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some of it with you." Now I realise that Mumbai/Bombay doesn't do things poetically the way I've experienced them in Melbourne but I was excited to jump back into spoken word and get back on the open mic.

Apart from the about me section, a few poems and quotes and pictures on the Facebook page, I couldn't quite glean a lot of information about what happens in the poetry sessions/meetings but I was game to explore and experience and be surrounded by poetry again. I'm sorry to say that post my first 'session' with this club I've come back a lot more confused and slightly heartbroken. I keep shaking my head in disbelief.

Spoken Word or Performance Poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for an audience. As per the definition I found - this poetry tends to demonstrate a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, free-association, rich poetic phrases, word play and slang. It is more aggressive and "in your face" than more traditional forms of poetry.

This is an art form that has existed for many many centuries  and what we now have as modern spoken word has originated from the Harlem Renaissance, blues music and the 1960's beatniks. The Last Poets popularised this genre - they were a poetry and political music group born out of the African-American Civil Rights movement. The list of spoken word and performance poetry influences is long and interesting and relevant even today!

The views of spoken word artists encompass frank commentary on religion, politics, sex and gender, often taboo subjects in society - it is used to inform or make an audience conscious of some human aspect pertaining to life.

The Poetry Club met in a public park, it was a quiet albeit muggy Sunday afternoon and poets trickled in and took a seat on a L-shaped raised block. It was unclear who was hosting the session and there seemed to be a palpable awkwardness hanging in the air. We split into haphazard pockets of conversation, the people who had been coming regularly reminiscing over past sessions and the newbies making small talk. I wish there was more organisation because it certainly wasn't welcoming. However if they're aiming for casual then that's just what it was - we waited for everyone to turn up, gave brief introductions of ourselves and then someone would get up and read - the team would say a nice thing or two, maybe have an opinion and then the awkwardness would return until the next person stood up to read.

Now the curious befuddling portion happens to be post open mic wherein we discuss a poem of someone's choice. The one for this month happened to be 'Ask me no More' by Tennyson, I had the most disturbing vivid flashbacks of dissecting literary poetry while studying my Bachelors and could think of nothing else I wanted to do less. Everyone else however found it exciting and thrilling to come up with interpretations of the same poem, I understand the premise but again I fail to understand what it had to do with being a performance poet.

If you're a poet who wants to hone your skills, get honest feedback and find that next platform for you to practice being a spoken word artist I personally wouldn't recommend The Poetry Club.

You're welcome to give it a go as long as you know the history of the art form you wish to imbibe.

Being a poet is rarely a choice but being a good one is.  

A writers best friend is a writers group

Now put down your defences and hear me out :)

I used to be one of those writers who pretty much shied away from people and opinions in general. Most friends and family that came across my poetry always just said nice things and gave me zero criticism/feedback. I was content with this self reliance and sole responsibility status.

Until a little over a year ago when I got enrolled in a poetry workshop with Andy Jackson (this is a link to his blog which you should check out fo shizzle). The workshop consisted of women from varying age groups and ran over 6 beautiful Sundays. There is nothing better than starting your Sunday with poetry/coffee and beautiful people.

Over the weeks we grew closer as we explored form and moods and work-shopped each other's more personal pieces of poetry. I consider them to be my poetry family :)

We enjoyed each others company so much and felt so safe in each others presence that we went on to meet every fortnight to talk, drink, write and explore. We have even encouraged each other to perform and are friends even across the distance.

I craved something similar when I moved to Mumbai/Bombay and was beyond thrilled to be told about Alphabet Sambar - they're a closed group of writers which is why I haven't linked to them here.

AS is made up of writers be it fiction/non-fiction/poetry/blog writers and so on and consists of people from all ages across the spectrum.

Everyone brings in an original piece of writing which the group then critiques. The feedback is succinct without being offensive and is honest.

I enjoyed the fact that we dabbled in so many different genres.

The group on Facebook has about 50 members though about 7-8 members show up at the meets. They are generally held in local coffee shops and I rather wish there was a better more quiet and less 'public' option. That being said they're lovely people who are kind and warm and welcoming and it is such a relief to find creative people who make an effort to 'create' and also share what they write.

There is a lot of exchange of knowledge and ideas and I am glad to be a part of it!

SO moral of the story? Writer's groups win!

Embrace the idea of getting constructive feedback and getting the opportunity to test the waters with your work before it is published or performed. 

Art with Zaiu

Are you interested in Art/Drawing/Painting? Did you used to draw when you were younger and want to get back into it? Do you need help with the basics or want to try something new? How about inspiration - need a bit of that?

Well have I got a deal for you - my invisible viewer - I know you're out there..

I bring you the perfect opportunity to explore art this weekend - 29th and 30th March14 at The Hive. These are the first two workshops in a series of six.

Saturday is for The Basics of Drawing and Paintings and on Sunday you can learn Still Life - Where objects tell a story. There are only 10 seats available for each workshop so I would recommend getting on this pronto.

Jai Ranjit aka Zaiu is a self-taught artist. He has had 3 solo shows and several group shows under his belt, with work exhibited in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru. He is an artist who works hard, believes in sharing knowledge and tries to steer clear of the stereotypes associated with teaching art. 

His accolades and accomplishments are numerous but to me what stands out is his spirit of giving.

So instead of harping on about everything he has done you can just jump on to his artist page here and have a look for yourself.

You can also view some of his paintings and the ones that are up for sale here. I was thrilled to discover that you can pay for his paintings in instalments. In my opinion it makes art affordable and attainable by one and all and I commend him for doing so.