Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Regarding The Caller on Today's On Point Radio Featuring Slam Poetry
Let it be known that "Susie" who called WBUR today was NOT representing Stone Soup Poetry as a group. If you are going to make a comment about slam poetry, please stand on your own two feet and not on behind any banner you think we might be holding. In the last few years, Stone Soup has featured and appreciated poetry in all its forms and will continue to do so. Such comments made allegedly on our behalf do nothing but hurt us and the poetry scene as a whole.
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3 comments:
It is precisely this sort of needless divisiveness and pointless grudges over quarter century old controversies, that contributed to my largely dropping out of the poetry scene.
Thank you for your efforts to promote respect.
No grudges here, Ian - I think the poetry scene is fantastic. I was speaking about Stone Soup in 1992 and said that, and that a group of us - not "Stone Soup" agreed with Jack. So I think my comments were extended much further than what I intended them to mean. I was kind of astounded to see this. (That said, I remain proudly opposed to competition in art.) Chad does phenomenal work and is to be highly commended. I do think Stone Soup is an inclusive venue - apart from any slam or no slam issues - and deserves the highest praise.
There has always been competition in art. We compete to be heard, we compete for studio space, wall space, publication, production, bookings, featured presentations, fellowships, grants, workshops, popularity, prizes, et cetera.
I'm not a big fan of the slam aesthetic myself (though I admit having competed a few times and enjoyed stepping out of my usual routine) but at least the slam competition is honest and transparent in that one always knows why one scored the way one did, which isn't always the case in the "non-competitive" sphere.
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