by Alison Oehmen
Let’s face it. The typical high-school poetry experience
is usually not the most inspiring or transformative. Toiling over iambic
pentameter, archaic vocabulary and the subtlest of metaphors can strike many
students as somewhat pointless and irrelevant beyond their obligatory English
courses. In Florida, however, a poetry program run by Tigertail Productions
called WordSpeak is
offering an alternative poetic experience for 1,000 South Floridian teenagers.
Each year, a group of students is selected as the
WordSpeak team in order to compete in various poetry slams and competitions. Rather
than focus solely on the works of others, the participants—six in number for
this year’s team—generate spoken-word poems of their own, which they then
perform at various venues and competitions throughout the year. In addition to
booking more low-key gigs and local performances in and around Miami, this year
the group performed at the Miami
Beach Botanical Garden and participated in the Brave
New Voices (BNV) national poetry competition.
Guided
by Teo Castellanos, who has served as the WordSpeak coach for eight of the
program’s nine years, the WordSpeak teens learn about the logistics of language,
rhythm and stage presence while also discovering the power of their own unique
points of view. After all, beyond the straightforward elocutionary and literary
knowledge that Castellanos doles out to the teen poets, the ultimate goal of
WordSpeak is to provide a constructive and creative outlet for them. As Mary
Luft, the director of Tigertail, remarks,
“We see it as a transformative project. . . . [The students] start thinking
differently about their place in the greater world and what else is out there.”
With this philosophy in place, WordSpeak strives to instill a sense of
confidence and empowerment in young individuals who might have otherwise not had
a voice.
In order to achieve these broader aims, WordSpeak
fosters an atmosphere of collaboration, an effort that begins with the
program’s coach. Castellanos interacts with his students as an instructive yet
relatable presence, providing useful tutelage in an engaging and relevant way. The
WordSpeak teens also participate in collective brainstorming sessions, wherein
they discuss and exchange new ideas for poems. Although the group participates
in competitions, it is nonetheless a tight-knit and supportive unit.
Moreover, Castellanos encourages the members of
WordSpeak to draw inspiration not only from personal experiences but from
farther-reaching current events issues as well. Whereas many teenagers grow up
paying little attention to social problems and concerns, members of WordSpeak are
challenged to cultivate a broader awareness and perspective that reaches beyond
the self. This outward focus not only specifically strengthens the teens’
writing by giving their pieces wider audience appeal, but also bolsters their
sensibility and self-confidence—characteristics that place them in good stead
far beyond their stint as WordSpeak poets.
Even the more competitive events in which WordSpeak partakes
have a concentrated emphasis on edification. The BNV, for example, though
widely recognized as the Olympic equivalent of spoken-word competitions, offers
a range of activities beyond the competition itself. Each year for the
impressive crowd of entrants, which includes over 500 youth poets from 50 different
teams, the BNV hosts a number of workshops and readings with established poets
and performers, as well as open mike nights. Previous years’ events were even aired
on HBO.
On a personal note, as a poetry fan myself, I think
WordSpeak, the BNV, and similar poetry groups and coalitions sound fantastic.
It’s nice to see poetry is alive and well nowadays, and functioning as a healthy,
dynamic outlet of expression for many students across the country. I only wish I
had that kind of opportunity when I was in high school!
Did You Know?
The Brave New Voices competition was the first poetry slam
competition of its kind in the world that was dedicated exclusively to
youth poets. Since its creation by Youth Speaks Inc. in 1998, the BNV has
become the largest ongoing spoken-word event worldwide.
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