I hated poetry and I have a feeling that anyone else who was forced to decipher them in middle school feels the same way. I usually associated poetry with boring English classes and strange words like simile, pentameter, stanza, hyperbole, and onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia? sick. To be completely honest I still don’t understand half of those words, but they became completely irrelevant after hearing poetry on my own. In schools, the technical aspects of poetry are often prioritized over the poems themselves, which is too bad because I’ve found that poetry is uniquely powerful and effective when it comes to learning.

“Only through new words might new worlds be called into order” –Saul Williams

Last March, a guest speaker on my favorite controversial podcast dropped the name of a “poetic genius” Saul Williams. I did a little digging and found his name linked to a 1998 indie film. I’m an offensively pretentious teenage girl with too much free time, so naturally I was on that like a moth to a flame. The film, “Slam” showcases Williams portraying Raymond Joshua, a poet from the DC projects. The simple and realistic story was transformed into a profoundly moving experience through the poetry. It stays realistic in all aspects, including how the poetry seamlessly integrates into the narrative. The poetry had a mesmerizing rhythm that lingers in my mind to this day. I remember sitting maybe nine inches from the screen,  captions on, rewinding it literally every thirty seconds; it was that good. I had this rare feeling reminiscent of being 11 years old and having epiphanies about space. And if you have ever been 11 years old, you KNOW epiphanies about space are no joke. So I won’t say anything else about the film, it deserves to tell its own story; It’s an important one.

After that I went into a deep spiral of slam poetry videos from the 90’s. Slam poetry is a type of spoken word art form mixed with competition. Its a sort of showdown with an audience, a panel of three, and on a scale of one through ten. These videos are addictive to watch, the poetry itself is energetic, I found it was a much different experience to hear and see the poetry rather than read it. 

Even though most of the slam videos were from the 90s, spoken word poetry is ancient. “There were poets long before there were printing presses, poetry is primarily oral utterance, to be said aloud, to be heard.” Etheridge Knight wrote in his piece, “On the Oral Nature of Poetry” 

Poetry is a great means of communication. Consider how history books often chronicle wars through statistics, devoid of the lived experiences and accounts of those who were actually there, in the midst of the conflict. History is taught with the intention that we learn from it, but it’s too often we just don’t. How can we really understand a lesson from such a detached perspective? Art has a way of humanizing history, spoken word poetry is a very effective means of learning, as it’s from the people to the people.

In history, slam poetry was utilized to speak on politics; touching on certain subjects like social justice, war, violence, gender equality, racism, etc. The Black Arts Movement was a cultural and artistic movement consisting of politically motivated black artists, poets, musicians, and writers, emerging during the early 1970s, and closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement. The goal of the movement being a rejection of white cultural norms and putting focus on black identity, history, and voices. 

“We take unholy risks to prove we are what we cannot be. For instance, I am not even crazy.” -The poet Amiri Baraka, recognized as the father of the Black Arts Movement

Through movements like The Black Arts Movement, poetry becomes a force for challenging the status quo, giving voice to the marginalized, and sharing the uncomfortable truths. 

The art form of spoken poetry is a powerful tool for self-expression, social change, and sharing perspectives. It can be used to give voice to the marginalized, challenges the status quo, and confronts society with uncomfortable truths. Saul Williams’ portrayal in “Slam” changed my opinion on poetry’s place in the world. I found that poetry isn’t meant to be some annoying academic exercise, it’s pure energy and its sacred.

The Liner Notes: The Culture Is Still Catching Up to Saul Williams

Collection: The Black Arts Movement