The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11575/jah.v0i1.53267Keywords:
hermeneutics, Gadamer, poetry, Poetry Slam, play, festival, symbolAbstract
In this paper, I discuss Poetry Slam events as hermeneutic encounters. Gadamer’s analysis of play, festival, and symbol form the theoretical basis of the discussion. Exemplary data include my research into aspects of the history and ritual of Slam as well as my experiential data as a spectator, coach of a Poetry Slam team of adolescents who compete in a provincial tournament for young poets, and as a Slam performer. I contend that, despite Slam’s occasional “silliness,†occasional problems of quality and fair play, and the insistence of many academics that it is not a worthwhile celebration of literature, Poetry Slam has the potential to create meaningful connections between diverse communities and tarry over language as a hermeneutic event. I note that, in an era where text is generated with increasing rapidity while our abilities to appreciate language as an event or as a means of connecting with each other are undermined, Poetry Slams might be the kind of festival we need to seek relief from these trends.
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References
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Williams, A. (2015). Do today’s tech-obsessed teens have less empathy? Teenology News by Teensafe. Retrieved from http://www.teensafe.com/blog/todays-tech-obsessed-teens-less-empathy/.
AlgarÃn, M., & Holman, B. (1994). Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Café. New York: NY. Henry Holt & Co.
Aptowicz, C.O. (2008). Words in your face: A guided tour through twenty years of the New York City poetry slam. New York: NY, Soft Skull Press.
Burrows, A. (2001). Slam poetry: A brief history from Chicago to Seattle. History Link.Org.Retrieved from http://www.historylink.org/
Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. (2015). C.I.P.S. FAQ for poets. in Versus Festival, VF (2015). Retrieved from http://versesfestival.ca/about-verses/c-i-p-s-faq/.
Calgary Spoken Word Society (2015). FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.calgaryspokenwordfestival.com/ slam_faq.php.
Canyouhearmenow Calgary (June 23, 2014). CYHMN Brianna Lynn “Brianna Lynnâ€. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXzEwetN4gE.
Canyouhearmenow Calgary (Dec. 4, 2014). Michaela Neuman “My therapists keep asking about you.†[video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtaAChoNv_k.
Dostal, R.H. (2002). Gadamer: The man and his work. In R.G. Dostal The Cambridge compan-ion to Gadamer. New York: NY, Cambridge University Press.
Erlbaum, J. (2008). The life story of the death of art. The Best American Poetry. Retrieved from http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2008/04/the-life-histor.html
Felton, R. (2015). Students explode onto poetry slam scene. Austin Weekly News. Retrieved from
http://www.austinweeklynews.com/News/Articles/3-16-2005/Students-explode-onto-poetry-slam-scene/.
Freitas, I.R. (2012). Questioning the carnivalesque: poetry slams, performance, and contempo-rary forms of resistance. (unpublished master’s thesis). Colorado University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Gadamer, H-G. (1986). The relevance of the beautiful. N. Walker (Trans.) In R. Bernasconi (Ed.) The relevance of the beautiful and other essays. (pp. 1 – 57.) Cambridge: UK, Cambridge University Press.
Gadamer, H-G. (2004). Truth and method. (J. Weinheimer & D.G. Marshall Trans.) London, UK: Continuum.
Hill, J. & Tatum C. (Producers), & Lord, P. & Milller, C. (Directors). 22 Jump Street. United States: Columbia Pictures.
Jacobs, G. & Siskel, J. (Producers and Directors), (2010) Louder than a bomb. [motion picture]. United States. Siskel / Jacobs productions. index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3448.
Koyczan, S. (2010). We are more. The Toronto Quarterly Literary and Arts Journal. Retrieved from http://thetorontoquarterly.blogspot.ca/2010/02/shane-koyczan-we-are-more-full -text.html.
Levitin, D.J. (2015). Why the modern world is bad for your brain. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/18/modern-world-bad-for-brain-daniel-j-levitin-organized-mind-information-overload.
Mello, R. (2001). The power of storytelling: how oral narrative influences children's relation-ships in classrooms. International Journal of Education & the Arts. 2(1). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v2n1/.
Moules, N. J. (2002). Hermeneutic inquiry: Paying heed to history and Hermes – An ancestral, substantive, and methodological tale. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 1 (3), Article 1. Retrieved from http://www.ualberta.ca/~ijqm/.
Perry, T.B. (2010). Lessons in falling. In T.B. Perry (Ed.). Lessons in falling. Calgary, AB, Canada: Bhouse Publications.
Sinding, K. (May 6, 2015). “Small†CYHMN? 2015 Calgary Poetry Slam. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdwJMi44_Q8.
Somers-Willett, S. B. A. (2009). The cultural politics of slam poetry: Race, identity, and the performance of popular verse in America. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Re-trieved October 26, 2015, from Project MUSE database
sunsetskyfire (2014). Slam poetry: A celebration in diversity. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/aug/22/slam-poetry-identity-amnesty-teen-takeover-2014.
UCSpokenWord (March 10, 2015). UCSW MARCH SLAM - John {Spoken Word}. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UJyluUuUDA.
UCSpokenWord (Apr 19, 2015). UCSW APRIL SLAM - Em Dubs // Round Two { Spoken Word }. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwHPm2nqgn0.
UCSpokenWord (April 20, 2015). UCSW APRIL SLAM - Em Dubs // Round 3 { Spoken Word }. [video file].
ya Salaam, Kalamu (2001). In defense of SLAM! Nation. Black Issue Book Review. March 1, 2001. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2OIuTQpr5I&feature=youtu.be&a.
Williams, A. (2015). Do today’s tech-obsessed teens have less empathy? Teenology News by Teensafe. Retrieved from http://www.teensafe.com/blog/todays-tech-obsessed-teens-less-empathy/.
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2015-11-10
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