Unpalatable Brew

I am a poet.  

As such, I consider words to be sacred; understanding fully that they have the power to influence those who read them and touch others’ lives; in a positive or a negative manner. When I compose lyrics for a spoken word piece, the lines of a poem or short story meant to be read; I am mindful of my words and chose them with care; as do the best of the many poets and spoken word artists whom I am honoured to know personally.

It is my belief that journalists have every bit as much responsibility, if not more; to be careful to research and thoroughly understand the subjects that they write about and that they should consider the impact of their words, since, not only do the members of the general public believe fully what they read in these articles; since what is published in a newspaper is considered to have the weight of truth; but they should also consider the impact of those words on the persons about whom they are writing.

Appearing in the Nation’s Sunday Sun, the weekend after the NIFCA Drama/Speech Finals, an article written by Ricky Jordan, entitled “Tasty brew” may have seemed, on the surface, to be complimentary to the art form of spoken word.  However, if you were to ask those artists who were singled out in that article as mere clones of Adrian Green; or ask Adrian Green himself, you would get a much different picture than the one painted in that article where Mr Jordan singled out several artists as clones of Adrian Green, and accused him of imposing his personality on the spoken word artists that he mentors.

It has been my experience that Adrian Green is extremely mindfully and deliberate in the amount and type of guidance that he gives fellow artistes to ensure that whatever they create; whether in written or spoken word format; comes from their perspective, their souls.  To suggest otherwise points to a lack of appreciation of the dynamics of the Spoken word community here in Barbados, and that none of the artists being written about were interviewed and I doubt that their pieces were listened to; with a critical; informed ear.

Perhaps what confused Mr Jordan was the fact that the people that he singled out as being clones of Adrian Green wore the same T-shirt that he did that night, a shirt with a message related to the years that Spoken Word has struggled to become recognized in the NIFCA process as a separate art form from Drama or Speech, where the judging criteria and the lack of a microphone has kept many Poets from entering in previous years, and some from entering again this year as well.

 

Perhaps if Mr Jordan had done some research into the meaning behind these shirts, his story would have been a well written article focused on the triumph of this growing art form in finally being able to gain the optional use of a microphone. His article could have been filled with stories from this year’s NIFCA Drama/Speech competition, would have explained why there were so many artists who entered spoken word pieces this year, and a bit more about the poetic families of “Iron Sharpen Iron”, and the “League of Extraordinary Poets” referred to in DJ Simmons piece “DIRTY”.

There were many persons present who wore the same shirts that Adrian Green, DJ Simmons, Robert Gibson and Oswald Joe donned for their performances at finals and there were several poets who are also members of the same poetic “family” who did not wear that shirt for their performances.  Those not wearing a WARNING T-Shirt were not labelled by Mr Jordan as 

“clones”, yet they were just as influenced; or not; by Adrian Green as those who wore the group's shirts on stage.

The morning this article came out, I heard, one by one, the crushing of the spirits of poets who worked diligently to craft unique pieces which carried messages, themes to entertain, or were written and delivered to evoke an emotional response from an audience….each one a talented writer; each who attended workshops and subjected their pieces to the review of their peers, week after week in preparation for NIFCA prelims, semi-finals, and then finals.

 

Robert Gibson grew from a nervous reader into a crowd-pleasing spoken word artist with his piece ‘Luscious’.  DJ Simmons carefully and artfully crafted a social commentary piece ‘Dirty’ that was deliberate and entertaining in content, wordplay, microphone use and delivery.  Oswald Joe came out of his comfort zone, moving deliberately away from dramatic arts and stepping out on stage for the first time as a spoken word artist with ‘Tingling Feeling’.

These artists, including Adrian Green himself, are influenced by the best in their craft.  They have studied other performances; they have looked critically at their own words, performances and delivery.  They each consciously thought about how best to use the microphones reluctantly granted to them.  They worked hard, and their individual talents are worthy of a balanced and educated critique, rather than an article without substantive background on the genre being reported on and which dismissed their efforts in a single fell swoop of the pen, condemning their talent as nothing more than an extension of another artist.  Although Adrian Green has assuredly inspired, influenced and encouraged each of them, as he has done for many others; he has not been guilty of the type of “cloning” that Mr Jordan infers in his article.

These artists had the support of all their peers, went through many hurdles in the NIFCA entry and judging process for their chosen art form, and the words published in this article stole something important from them.

   

Perhaps it is a matter of exposure.  If so, I would like to offer to be Mr Jordan’s personal guide on a poetic journey though YouTube, and the local Spoken word venues, in order to allow him to see the differences between a piece like “Luscious”, and ‘Big Rock Lyrics’.  I know the writers, as well as many other artists here in Barbados would welcome the opportunity to sit with any of the members of the press to give them an insight into the creative sector, and to help them become familiar with the various genres’ as well as to discuss the future and the challenges faced by artists

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There is so much going on, worthy of being spoken about; of being reported on; in the Arts these days.  Artists are coming together, and doing what needs to be done, lifting ourselves and each other up; instead of waiting for government assistance.  These should be the articles being written, rather than pieces which minimize the efforts of artists who strive to be professional and who work hard to always be improving.

If you are interested, the message on our T-Shirts is:      WARNING…..I AM A POET….I Speak My Mind and they prominently feature a microphone to represent the Spoken Word artists’ victory in finally having been given the option to use mics while performing this year.  

  

For all the journalists out there, who report on the arts, artists realize that we need your reviews and we appreciate critical feedback which will help us improve aspects of our craft, but please, interview the persons being written about; know the background of the process that put the artists or their works on the stage in the first place.  Write about what you know, have gained experience in covering, or do the research.   Every Spoken word artist that entered this year made an effort to be there, pushed themselves to perform professionally, and to be the best they were capable of.  

It should not be too much to ask that the journalists who cover the event hold themselves to the same standards. 

                      

Katherine Felix