Super Poem Sunday (my first Slam Poetry Contest)

Hey AllOne Family...Yep, that's me, Steven T. Licardi and Kathaleen Donnelly, with 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place positions (respectively) in a SLAM poetry event, the first one I'd ever attended!  In short, be sure to always challenge yourself and bring yourself into new situations, the worst thing that happens no matter what is you have a new experience!  My new motto...(no, not "Y.O.L.O.")
"Compete with yourself, you'll always come out a winner"
Here's the story:
    Being as I'm not a football fan or follower in any capacity this past Sunday, (February 2nd) I went to a function called Super Poem Sunday at the Walt Whitman Birthplace in South Huntington.  During this event the main entertainment was to be a SLAM poetry contest, where upwards of 40 poets would share a poem that was 3 minutes or shorter and would be judged, winning awards and nominal amounts of money.The event was set up by The Bards Initiative, The Long Island Poetry Collective, and The Performance Poetry Association.  If you are a poet or writer of any kind I recommend that you get in touch with or become involved in the social and creative circles cultivated by these three groups.  The atmosphere that is promoted and perpetuated by these people is friendly, inspiring and encouraging.  The talent is abundant, humbling and motivating!

    I'd never been to the Walt Whitman Birthplace, which is a completely unassuming little building that you can pass by easily even if using a GPS.  It has a rustic lodge feel with the informational panels that you'd think herald the opening ups of zoo enclosures.  Admittedly I didn't know much of Whitman's history or work, despite knowing that he was a Long Island native/resident. His story is/was really interesting, a pioneer and a bit controversial for his time.  He looked like Santa Claus or Karl Marx, or an old picture of God and from what I gathered, he was sort of the Woody Guthrie of poetry. Whitman was a speaker of the people, a dusty hardworking man with no ego and a lot of heart.  His recurring and widely recognized work "Leaves Of Grass" (released in 1855) was influential and innovative for it's time and continued to grow as he was reprinted dozens of times over his lifetime.  What was really interesting to me was that the first run of "Leaves Of Grass" didn't have his name anywhere, just a picture of him in it.  Ralph Waldo Emerson was a fan of his and this encouraged him to continue to write.  One quote that I read that stuck out to me, that I ended up writing down was in response to friends and critics that advised he censor or alter the course of his work and vision.  On this he says: "I felt down in my soul the unmistakable conviction to disobey all and pursue my own way".  I think we'd all be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't identify with that, whether they recall having acted on that necessarily selfish desire to be who and what you feel you are in spite of everything else, or you are someone who wishes so badly to "be able to do that".  We pilot ourselves through this life, let nobody hijack your flight!  The birthplace, as you'd imagine was very informative both on his personal history and the style of his work and progression of it.  Here's an archive of his work, and some photos I took of the informational parts of the building.

        The building must have filled in with something like 50-70 people, which is huge, especially for a poetry event!  My friend Kelly accompanied me to it.  There were tons of great poets there, and while I made a list of those who performed,  I think it'd be exhaustive to list it here (no disrespect to any of the poetic family that gathered here!).  Quite honestly, everyone involved was supremely talented, genuine and supportive of one another.  I always feel confident and loved and loving at these events. I feel proud of myself and my surroundings, not because I think I'm great, but because I think what we are all doing is great and it is affirming to be among those who share your love for something dear to you! I consider myself a writer before I consider myself anything else (performer, musician, singer, ect).  I've been actively and purposefully reacquainting myself with the poetry scene  because there is no ego or competition at these events, there is just a refreshing love for the craft and those who love it likewise.

   I ended up being the third or fourth performer.  The piece I performed is called "Anti-social-network-ethic" which I originally wrote as a guest part on my friend Knife's song "Least Entertamed" for his forthcoming album, I highly recommend you helping him and his group Dope Sandwich Productions  they make some fun and traditional hip hop.  Knife's album is a sort of blend of Trent Reznor and hip hop, as he explained to me when I met him and The Contraverse at a Comiskey Park show that my friends Last Of The Horsemen played while on tour.  I have been integrating it as a spoken word piece into my set lately.  You can watch the performance my friend Kelly filmed on this video here or on the AllOne Youtube (which I'd appreciate if you subscribed to, this year I'll be adding a ton more video work to it!).  The sharing of this poem ended up earning me third place, which paid for me entry fee to the event, meaning I got to have a beautiful experience socially and artistically for free, which would have been worth it, whether I won anything or paid to get in!  My friend Steven T. Licardi (The Sven Bo) performed in the slot just after me.  He is a phenomenal poet and person and you should visit his blog "Cross My Heart and Hope To Write" He ended up getting 2nd place, and I'm glad he placed because his performance was impacting and it was a poem with a lot of meaning.
     There was a silly Super Bowl parody vibe about the entire production and it was entertaining and goofy and everyone was in good spirits. There was  "half time" intermission and a hilarious skit involving a false news reporter in the vein of Rod Serling with a "poem vortex" that only resurrected poet impressions could salvage, (such as Whitman, Edgar Alan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost and Sylvia Plath) all with mock-style-parodies written and performed by participating poets.  Kathaleen Donnelly performed a piece which more than earned her first place and the "Most Valuable Poet" title!  Despite being a "contest", I think it is important to emphasize that nobody felt hurt, no one felt cheated, everyone was happy for everyone and there was an amicable and supportive environment throughout the event!

   This experience was a phenomenal one.  It gave me something to do on a day that is largely governed by a sports tradition that I don't identify with.  It allowed me to spend time among talented people whom I really loved interacting with, seeing plenty of old friends and meeting many new ones!  I did something not entirely different for me, but taking the idea of "competition" (even in a fostering and warm environment) to my work was new to me, and it felt really good. I felt rewarded just by the enriching rattling of my nerves and the inspiring hard work and heartfelt sharing of other's art.  I will certainly seek out more SLAM poetry events, to compete in and to spectate during.
 As it is, I am doing two poetry features in the next two months. Feel free to attend and read during the open mic portion, share a poem in an environment that is positive, open and supportive!
February 25th at Sachem Library,
March 17th at the Bellmore Bean 
    I encourage you all to get involved in your local communities, gather together, regardless of your interest, whether you're poets, athletes, whittlers, singers, songwriters, whatever it is, just connect with each other and relish in your passion for something.  Something as private as our favorite things to do can paradoxically be fortified by the discovery that others love it and worship it as much as we do, in their own ways!
So with that story shared I encourage you:
Compete with yourself, you'll always come out a winner!
Love always,
-AllOne