What is the point of slam poetry?

THE back room of an indie bistro; the space between the shelves of a local bookstore; a high school’s multipurpose hall; the corridor before a thrift store. These rooms have little in common, except that they have all had lines of poetry and bursts of emotions echo between their walls.

They’ve all witnessed spoken word events aplenty. At its essence, slam poetry, known non-competitively as spoken word poetry, is a form of literary art made to be accessible and transportable. After all, all a spoken word poet needs are their voice and a story to tell.

While slam poetry is the name given to a competition where spoken word poets coalesce to put their poetry skills to the test, spoken word poetry doesn’t have to be nerve-wracking.

For those who dislike an intensely competitive environment, open mics are a far more stress-free place to explore your poetry identity. With singers, rappers and actors taking the stage too, the melting pot of performances becomes the highlight of any Malaysian poet’s career. 

Before Covid-19 lockdowns, KL had the privilege of witnessing at least an open mic a week. Held at a variety of places, from coworking places to RexKL’s vacant halls, all an open mic needs is a mic stand and a splattering of seats for the audience.

Most poets present are working adults seeking the thrill of performing, juggling poetry as an art form on top of their day jobs. Despite that, poets of any age and experience are welcome, with endless streams of praise and feedback being exchanged at the end of each night. 

It may surprise many that poetry slam is as old as the mullet and synthesiser music. A construction worker in the 1980s, tired of the elitism of poetry at that time, decided to reconstruct poetry by inventing the slam poetry movement.

It rejects rigidity by refusing to conform to any standards or rules. In slam poetry, there is no right answer, only your poem and how you want to tell it. Some poets, like Harry Baker, use rhyme and rhythm excessively to create an almost rap-like and entrancing performance, while others like Sarah Kay and Rudy Francisco focus on imagery. The beauty of slam poetry is its flexibility. 

Given the fluid nature of spoken word poetry, poetry slams can be held in an endless variety of ways. For example, most high school slams involve the presentation of a single poem, while slams held between universities can involve multiple preliminary rounds, where poets are slowly eliminated until only the finalists remain.

Despite these variations, all poems must be performed without costumes, props, or music, though that doesn’t stop the musically inclined from singing and beat-boxing in their performances.

Commonly seen as the art form that blends poetry and theatre, there is no shortage of performance elements in a poetry slam. Poets choreograph hand gestures, pace and dance across the stage, and even involve audience members in the presentation of their poems. The sky truly is the limit in spoken word poetry. 

In its purest form, poetry slams derive their judges from the audience. Any stray wanderer with the fortune of stumbling into a library where a slam is being held has a chance of becoming a judge themselves.

Every round, a new panel of five judges is selected at random to score the poems on a scale of one to 10, and the scores are hollered out as soon as the poem ends, so there are no surprises. 

It’s easy to become bitten by the bug. Like most expressions of art, spoken word poetry roots itself in unravelling the complex and multifaceted emotions of the human condition, making it an artform suited to self-reflection and discovery.

When one’s emotions become overbearing, expressing them through a poem, then passionately performing to a crowd that cheers and sighs with sympathy are extremely cathartic.

Check out Sabrina Benaim’s Explaining My Depression To My Mother for an incredibly heart-wrenching poem. It is just one of the many soul-shattering performances on record. 

Aside from the therapeutic nature of spoken word poetry, the community is also one that warrants appreciation. Every audience is filled to the brim with enthusiastic artists and spectators, all eagerly applauding and cheering every performance.

From freshies to experienced poets, everyone gets a voice and a stage. Attending a single poetry event is all it takes to become immersed in the scene.

Through making friends, exchanging socials and keeping in touch with new contacts, the interconnected nature of the community means all poetry news is circulated through the same channels. 

With Malaysia entering the endemic phase of Covid-19, hopefully, poetry slam events will move back from sterile video calls to warm venues with enthusiastic crowds. There is no harm in joining the poetry scene, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as poetic.

As many slam poets like to say, the point is not the points, the point is poetry. – The Vibes, July 23, 2022

*Teioh Nuan Ning has been participating in poetry slams and spoken word events for the past five years and has won several competitions as well.