By: Jacquelyn Perreira
Check out the press conference with Youth Speaks Hawaii:
Youth Speaks Hawaii: Press Conference September 24,2011
Slamming. Typically a word meaning something close to hitting, has a completely different meaning for the youth who participate in the captivating performance that is slam poetry: it is one of the words used to describe their unique performances. This medium is being brought to light through a program named Youth Speaks Hawaii (YSH).
“Having a positive, creative outlook like slam poetry is very important to teens because (they) have feelings (and) opinions, and often times (they) are marginalized by people who believe that (their) opinions aren’t valid or important,” explained YSH Event Coordinator and slam poet Sterling Higa.
Starting from the 1980s in Chicago, slam poetry branched to Hawaii in 2005 after Youth Speaks founders, Travis T and Melvin Bora returned from a Slam Poetry competition in San Francisco.
“(T and Bora) traveled there to compete at a regional slam and in the regional slam there was a youth team from the Bay area. And the youth team clobbered the adult teams; they were really good,” said Higa.
Slam poet and MHS Alumnae Brittany Martin explains what slam poetry is, “(It) isn’t all that different from classical poetry … you tell a story or deliver a message, but it’s your job as a performer to really bring those words to life. It’s important that your audience feels or understands the emotions you’re trying to convey; a connection is crucial.”
As an organization geared toward youth from ages 13 to 19, YSH gives teens the opportunity to attend slam poetry workshops every Wednesday from 4:30 – 6p.m. at Arts @ Marks Garage where they are able to learn how to write and practice performing their work.
“It’s important in all your interactions … not only to speak but to make genuine connections (with people). And with slam poetry we try to do that. It’s not just about spreading a message, it’s about making a genuine connection with audience members and communicating something you feel strongly about,” explains Higa of their goals for participants.
Slam poetry performances are typically known as “slamming,” “slams” or “slam sessions.” For YSH, slams are held in a room with about forty people in the audience, which can initially be intimidating for performers. “It’s exhilarating and nerve-wracking, especially before and while you’re performing. My favorite part of slamming was having people come up to me afterward and tell me how much they could relate to my poems,” explains Martin.
Through these experiences, many participants have not only grown artistically, but in their personalities as well. “The impact we see on these kids is not only that they become better writers, but they also become more confident (and) they feel more able to express themselves,” said Higa.
YSH also gives its participants opportunities to share interactions with youth around Hawaii that they may not have had otherwise. “We have kids from all over the island. So we have kids from Farrington interacting with kids from Kaiser, and kids from Punahou interacting with kids from Waianae,” said Higa.
Although YSH provides a range of opportunities, their organization is still having difficulties expanding the amount of youth they can reach due to limitations posed by lack of funds and support. “Our ultimate goal is to have slam poetry organizations in every high school in the state; to have poetry slams that not only get a couple schools in town but also have schools from the Big Island (and) Kawaii come to … not just to compete, but to share like, different perspectives and voices and have that interaction,” said Higa.
To find out more about YSH, where their performances are, and how to help them raise funds, their website is http://youthspeakshawaii.org.
