I’m parking this here for the time being.
ZERO POINT ZERO: WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
It’s funny sometimes how you end up repeating yourself. Almost a year ago, in May of last year, I wrote a column that feels remarkably relevant right now as the various slam venues around the country and beyond get down to the final brass tacks of choosing their teams for the National Poetry Slam in St. Louis in August. I find myself revisiting it this year, and for many of the same reasons.
It feels especially poignant for me because this is the third year since I stopped competing. In addition, it will be the first Nationals since I decided that last year’s Chicago Shindig would be my last. Despite the rightness of that decision, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic for the great camaraderie and party atmosphere I have always loved.
Still – I gave up on Nats last year because I felt that the most important part of the event – the poetry – was in serious trouble. I still do, and I’m not alone. (Nothing new there – poets have been debating the quality and direction of each other’s poetry for millennia, and this whole thing gets brought up after every Nationals.)
This year, the debate’s been re-ignited by the adoption of a new slam format called the 5×3, designed to allow more teams than ever (upwards of 80) into the NPS.
While the ongoing expansion of the slam movement is a worthy goal, it’s not enough for some of us. I don’t see this continued push as being enough to help with the sustainability of performance poetry.
Let me be blunt: I don’t see the NPS maintaining its relevance as THE must-see event in this field for very much longer if the governing bodies of the NPS don’t put some oomph into the idea of quality performance as a partner to superior writing.
Here’s what I wrote in that column last year:
“One of the great challenges of performance poetry today — a challenge that I think we need to meet head on, if this movement is going to be something more lasting than a passing fad – is to find a way to break out beyond the subculture we’ve created for ourselves.
I think that effort ought to include four things:
1. A way of recognizing what “the best” work is, naming it as such, and preserving it in a way that makes it useful to others.
2. A willingness to critique ourselves and others against those standards and examples, and to push ourselves and others to excellence by being willing to say what of our work is and is not good.
3. Identification of ways to define and describe those practices that will help us become excellent within our art-form, in a way that will allow us (unlike too many of the keepers of the keys to the Kingdom of Poetry in the past) to maintain standards while still allowing for innovations in content and process that will undoubtedly challenge the status quo.
4. The creation and maintenance of our own avenues for dissemination of good work beyond our current boundaries, and a willingness to look at how we can get our work out there by opening currently closed existing avenues.”
I haven’t seen anything in recent years in slam that has done much to do anything except reinforce the headlong, year long drive to do the poems that fit the format that win the slams that get you to the NPS.
This year, PSI did host the Individual Series in February, of course; and it’s hosting a poetry training camp in Oneonta NY in June. But the truth is, those are still EVENT oriented – as in, you have to be there to get the benefits of the event; long term sustainability of those benefits seems suspect to me, as witnessed by the general lack of sustained enthusiasm I’ve seen about either event from the slam community. That’s not meant as a reflection on the events themselves, by the way; more a comment on the limited energy that’s been put into capitalizing upon them out in the greater slam world.
You know, if I had to point right now at the single greatest thing that’s come out of slam, it’s the Slam Family – that interconnected web of slams and readings across the country that has allowed an entire subculture to develop around the art of spoken word performance. I think it’s a great and organic thing. I also think it gets wasted, precisely because we spend so much time and energy in our communities focused on August.
I’ve deliberately let my PSI membership lapse this year, so maybe I’ve given up my right to say this, but I’m going to anyway: I’d like to see PSI and the Slam Family in general put some energy into figuring out the best way to do the four things I’ve listed above – because only then will we be able to use the great energy and the network that is the Slam Family to have performance poetry be perceived as something more than a poor cousin of “real “poetry.
Let’s see the slam family find a way to:
Hold onto its more experienced writers without relegating them to organizer roles.
Make the bar for writing equal to the bar for performance.
Create publications and periodicals that honor the craft of writing for performance.
Hold itself responsible for increasing the standards for what “good work” means.
Use its power – and yes, it has power – to reward good writing in the community.
Support greater outreach by its members to non-traditional communities and under-served populations.
Dammit, people – we’ve been at this since the mid 1980s. We ought to be able to figure out that the growth of the slam family has more to do with a hunger for the experience of potent words than with the pleasure of the 10.
What will it take?
Dark Matter 
April 16th, 2004 at 12:27 pm
Agreed.
Unless we begin to hold ourselves accountable, or establish accountability standards that we rigorously enforce.
Then, the “competition” aspect of slam can be the theater it is without the confusion that the judges are actually judging, and therefore establishing, the quality of anything presented.
Which is why the idea of Regionals is so troubling to me — it perpetuates the illusion that the “best” poetry will be presented at Nationals.
April 16th, 2004 at 12:27 pm
Agreed.
Unless we begin to hold ourselves accountable, or establish accountability standards that we rigorously enforce.
Then, the “competition” aspect of slam can be the theater it is without the confusion that the judges are actually judging, and therefore establishing, the quality of anything presented.
Which is why the idea of Regionals is so troubling to me — it perpetuates the illusion that the “best” poetry will be presented at Nationals.
April 16th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
As I’ve written at length (and I’m working on a long essay now), I don’t see how any artistic system based on value judgment and promotion can maintain a quality standard without accountability in the judgment.
Random judges are not accountable, ever. Not to good writing, not to quality performance, not to anything but the capricious appeal of a given night. To me, everything else is rearranging deck chairs.
April 16th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
As I’ve written at length (and I’m working on a long essay now), I don’t see how any artistic system based on value judgment and promotion can maintain a quality standard without accountability in the judgment.
Random judges are not accountable, ever. Not to good writing, not to quality performance, not to anything but the capricious appeal of a given night. To me, everything else is rearranging deck chairs.
April 16th, 2004 at 10:09 am
Not a full scale revolt, I guess; more a broadening.
I believe in a Nats that looks more like the Olympics — slams for haiku, long poems, group pieces, etc., that would offer a greater palette to the listener.
Here’s the rub: instead of relegating those events to weekday afternoons, I would include them as offerings AT NIGHT. Prime Time.
I would reduce the existing 4×4/5×3 formatted competitions to a field of 32, and instead offer a variety of other competitive formats that received equal billing and prize honors (maybe not monetarily, but in terms of status).
I bet you’d get bigger audiences. They’ve been shrinking, you know, over th last few years. This might crank it up a bit.
It’s the “this way, all or nothing” version of Nats that I think is homogenizing the poetry — everyone’s forcing their work into the same mold, or you don’t get to play at the NPS.
April 16th, 2004 at 10:09 am
Not a full scale revolt, I guess; more a broadening.
I believe in a Nats that looks more like the Olympics — slams for haiku, long poems, group pieces, etc., that would offer a greater palette to the listener.
Here’s the rub: instead of relegating those events to weekday afternoons, I would include them as offerings AT NIGHT. Prime Time.
I would reduce the existing 4×4/5×3 formatted competitions to a field of 32, and instead offer a variety of other competitive formats that received equal billing and prize honors (maybe not monetarily, but in terms of status).
I bet you’d get bigger audiences. They’ve been shrinking, you know, over th last few years. This might crank it up a bit.
It’s the “this way, all or nothing” version of Nats that I think is homogenizing the poetry — everyone’s forcing their work into the same mold, or you don’t get to play at the NPS.
April 16th, 2004 at 5:54 am
I haven’t seen anything in recent years in slam that has done much to do anything except reinforce the headlong, year long drive to do the poems that fit the format that win the slams that get you to the NPS.
heh – had a conversation with Gary the other night wherein i mentioned to him that i, personally, don’t bother slamming anymore b/c i don’t think i’m writing “slamworthy” material. it had started with a broad query about female readership at the readings/slams in the area. this is not new – SlamSisters was making an attempt to address that three, four years ago.
but i don’t think this is a “feminist” issue – honestly – i think that the feminist issues here are symptoms of the bigger problems. i’ve heard folks of both genders make comments about the scene, nationally (& also a little more locally).
it may not be so much that we need to raise the bar, as that we need to break the mold – for exactly vthe reasons you state, the slams have, to a great extent, become homogenized. how do we bring back the former spirit of experimentation & the willingness to be adventuresome? perhaps nat’ls should rest a year or two & throw a festival instead? i thought for sure that iWPS would do it – but i was under the assumption that iWPS meant no more indie competition in nat’ls – had hope for the mighty group piece – oh, for Canada & K-Zoo…
April 16th, 2004 at 5:54 am
I haven’t seen anything in recent years in slam that has done much to do anything except reinforce the headlong, year long drive to do the poems that fit the format that win the slams that get you to the NPS.
heh – had a conversation with Gary the other night wherein i mentioned to him that i, personally, don’t bother slamming anymore b/c i don’t think i’m writing “slamworthy” material. it had started with a broad query about female readership at the readings/slams in the area. this is not new – SlamSisters was making an attempt to address that three, four years ago.
but i don’t think this is a “feminist” issue – honestly – i think that the feminist issues here are symptoms of the bigger problems. i’ve heard folks of both genders make comments about the scene, nationally (& also a little more locally).
it may not be so much that we need to raise the bar, as that we need to break the mold – for exactly vthe reasons you state, the slams have, to a great extent, become homogenized. how do we bring back the former spirit of experimentation & the willingness to be adventuresome? perhaps nat’ls should rest a year or two & throw a festival instead? i thought for sure that iWPS would do it – but i was under the assumption that iWPS meant no more indie competition in nat’ls – had hope for the mighty group piece – oh, for Canada & K-Zoo…
April 16th, 2004 at 4:56 am
Don’t apologize!
Oh, you know the drill, rc. Rant away — that’s what I’m here for. 😉
April 16th, 2004 at 4:56 am
Don’t apologize!
Oh, you know the drill, rc. Rant away — that’s what I’m here for. 😉
April 15th, 2004 at 11:01 pm
nats
i don’t know if i’ve ever thought of the nps as the be all and end all of poetry, performance or anything else for that matter. of the four years i have attended two of them were great (year one and three) one horrible and one pretty good. all mostly for internal personal reasons. soem i don’t even understand.
christ the year i consider my worst is the year my team mate won the indie championship. that was terrific and i was miserable.
i think a large part of the problem is the star system that is inherent in a competition based event. those who don’t make semi finals, or finals stage, in spite of all the words about “family” a lot of those poets get ignored.
earlier today i was thinking “family” is not the model we should be using nor the word we should be speaking. toward an artistic poetry collective would be more what i would like. families are dictatorial and not equal.
so often i find its not about the poetry, its not about the art and instead it seems to be too much, in my opinion, about establishing your connections, doing some networking, pimping your new cd or book, furthering your career. in find a spirit of experimentation and risk is needed and less concern about how some tv show producer will think you sound and look.
perhaps i am naive. perhaps i am an idiot.
not that i haven’t had some beautiful moments sharing poems with others over the years, i have. not that i haven’t made friendships over the years, i have. and at the same time i am left wanting.
this debate has a potential to tear a rift in our local scene where some are keenly interested in politics and less interested in the poetry.
we need more festivals like iwps, the living word series, taos poetry circus and the new canadian spoken word olympics series. part of the nps problem too is that it is too american. it needs to take off the blinders and recognize poetry is a human phenomenon that laughs at borders and definitions.
sorry about the rant in your space. i just agree with you.
rcw
April 15th, 2004 at 11:01 pm
nats
i don’t know if i’ve ever thought of the nps as the be all and end all of poetry, performance or anything else for that matter. of the four years i have attended two of them were great (year one and three) one horrible and one pretty good. all mostly for internal personal reasons. soem i don’t even understand.
christ the year i consider my worst is the year my team mate won the indie championship. that was terrific and i was miserable.
i think a large part of the problem is the star system that is inherent in a competition based event. those who don’t make semi finals, or finals stage, in spite of all the words about “family” a lot of those poets get ignored.
earlier today i was thinking “family” is not the model we should be using nor the word we should be speaking. toward an artistic poetry collective would be more what i would like. families are dictatorial and not equal.
so often i find its not about the poetry, its not about the art and instead it seems to be too much, in my opinion, about establishing your connections, doing some networking, pimping your new cd or book, furthering your career. in find a spirit of experimentation and risk is needed and less concern about how some tv show producer will think you sound and look.
perhaps i am naive. perhaps i am an idiot.
not that i haven’t had some beautiful moments sharing poems with others over the years, i have. not that i haven’t made friendships over the years, i have. and at the same time i am left wanting.
this debate has a potential to tear a rift in our local scene where some are keenly interested in politics and less interested in the poetry.
we need more festivals like iwps, the living word series, taos poetry circus and the new canadian spoken word olympics series. part of the nps problem too is that it is too american. it needs to take off the blinders and recognize poetry is a human phenomenon that laughs at borders and definitions.
sorry about the rant in your space. i just agree with you.
rcw
April 15th, 2004 at 10:48 pm
Re: An idea…
‘love all you said in the paragraph starting with “I think it would be an awesome prerequisite…” I’l lsee whether we can do it in Corpus. Thank you for these ideas.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:48 pm
Re: An idea…
‘love all you said in the paragraph starting with “I think it would be an awesome prerequisite…” I’l lsee whether we can do it in Corpus. Thank you for these ideas.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:38 pm
An idea…
“Support greater outreach by its members to non-traditional communities and under-served populations.”
Some of the competition structures at the team selection level run in such a way that a poet could conceivably compete 3 times, win a semi bout, score well in the finals and find themselves on a plane to Nationals. Well good for them, but do they know the history of slam? Do they know who the people are that started with it — who bled and sweat for slam? I find you never know more about something then when you have to explain it to someone else.
In order to have PSI certification you have to prove that the reading/slam as a whole has good attendance, a minimum number of slams per year etc etc etc Maybe there should be some standards on the poets themselves.
I think it would be an awesome prerequisite for poets to have had to put some time in their community with their art. Maybe each poet needs to have done a workshop at a public school, performed at a community or religiously affiliated center — things of that nature before they can qualify to compete for a team spot. Or maybe the team once selected must do these things together between selection and the actual Nationals.
I think these types of standard would also raise the quality level of poetry. I can’t do a poem about raunchy sex to a bunch of fifth graders — I mean I guess I could, but I wouldn’t really be connecting with them. Knowing that I might have to perform something for someone my niece’s age as well as someone as old as my grandmother might make me want to reach.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:38 pm
An idea…
“Support greater outreach by its members to non-traditional communities and under-served populations.”
Some of the competition structures at the team selection level run in such a way that a poet could conceivably compete 3 times, win a semi bout, score well in the finals and find themselves on a plane to Nationals. Well good for them, but do they know the history of slam? Do they know who the people are that started with it — who bled and sweat for slam? I find you never know more about something then when you have to explain it to someone else.
In order to have PSI certification you have to prove that the reading/slam as a whole has good attendance, a minimum number of slams per year etc etc etc Maybe there should be some standards on the poets themselves.
I think it would be an awesome prerequisite for poets to have had to put some time in their community with their art. Maybe each poet needs to have done a workshop at a public school, performed at a community or religiously affiliated center — things of that nature before they can qualify to compete for a team spot. Or maybe the team once selected must do these things together between selection and the actual Nationals.
I think these types of standard would also raise the quality level of poetry. I can’t do a poem about raunchy sex to a bunch of fifth graders — I mean I guess I could, but I wouldn’t really be connecting with them. Knowing that I might have to perform something for someone my niece’s age as well as someone as old as my grandmother might make me want to reach.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:28 pm
You see, I do not see yet, not clearly at least, what is wrong about the Nationals. Maybe we need to add other things to the book, but I fail to see a need to revolt against Nats.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:28 pm
You see, I do not see yet, not clearly at least, what is wrong about the Nationals. Maybe we need to add other things to the book, but I fail to see a need to revolt against Nats.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:26 pm
Dude, you MUST do the Texan tour. I will make it worthy for you.
“I don’t think it’s nearly enough.”
I agree, but we need to start somehwre and this is a good step. And if we do more stuff like this we may encourage poets to write better poems. I think we have a reason to be optimistic here.
I may be wrong, but I want to mention one thing about “the hurried adoption of 5X3.” We already have 70 full applications, 6 more than 4×4 format could accommodate. I think it means that the family grows, and based on what I have seen on our small scene here, it grows in part because scenes are invigorated by the treks to the Nats. I think this formula is good for the growth of performance poetry as a movement.
Thank you for posting the column.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:26 pm
Dude, you MUST do the Texan tour. I will make it worthy for you.
“I don’t think it’s nearly enough.”
I agree, but we need to start somehwre and this is a good step. And if we do more stuff like this we may encourage poets to write better poems. I think we have a reason to be optimistic here.
I may be wrong, but I want to mention one thing about “the hurried adoption of 5X3.” We already have 70 full applications, 6 more than 4×4 format could accommodate. I think it means that the family grows, and based on what I have seen on our small scene here, it grows in part because scenes are invigorated by the treks to the Nats. I think this formula is good for the growth of performance poetry as a movement.
Thank you for posting the column.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:18 pm
What will it take?
Someone leading a revolt against Nats, that’s what.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:18 pm
What will it take?
Someone leading a revolt against Nats, that’s what.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:15 pm
I do think it helps, Stefan. And I should have mentioned it.
I don’t think it’s nearly enough.
I guess the combination of the war stuff last year, some behind the scenes stuff I’m not going to disclose at Nats, and the hurried adoption of 5X3 has left me a little more than somewhat disillusioned. I don’t trust PSI with poetry, I guess.
As for meeting me — hey, I do tour from time to time…
April 15th, 2004 at 10:15 pm
I do think it helps, Stefan. And I should have mentioned it.
I don’t think it’s nearly enough.
I guess the combination of the war stuff last year, some behind the scenes stuff I’m not going to disclose at Nats, and the hurried adoption of 5X3 has left me a little more than somewhat disillusioned. I don’t trust PSI with poetry, I guess.
As for meeting me — hey, I do tour from time to time…
April 15th, 2004 at 10:11 pm
Great column, Tony. I wholeheartedly agree with every point you’ve made. I can only hope that your words will actually spark some change. What does it take to light a fire, anyway?
April 15th, 2004 at 10:11 pm
Great column, Tony. I wholeheartedly agree with every point you’ve made. I can only hope that your words will actually spark some change. What does it take to light a fire, anyway?
April 15th, 2004 at 10:08 pm
Tony, do you thing that an anthology like tw edited by PSi somehow helps to achieve spme of the goals you mentioned? I do, and I also thing it’s a better book because it includes poems like yours.
Maybe there should be another one put together, after “indi” slam.
I do not know all of your motives (I would like to know them). Maybe you are making the right decision. Maybe it’s the best for you. But I’m sorry you decided not to come to the Nats. I was looking forward to meeting you in person.
April 15th, 2004 at 10:08 pm
Tony, do you thing that an anthology like tw edited by PSi somehow helps to achieve spme of the goals you mentioned? I do, and I also thing it’s a better book because it includes poems like yours.
Maybe there should be another one put together, after “indi” slam.
I do not know all of your motives (I would like to know them). Maybe you are making the right decision. Maybe it’s the best for you. But I’m sorry you decided not to come to the Nats. I was looking forward to meeting you in person.