Poetry isn’t dead on stage

If you want to get an idea of poetry’s standing in the world of literary arts, a good place to start is Google. When you type the words “poetry is” into a search, the first thing that comes up is “dead” followed by “stupid.”  So I’m not taking a particularly bold stance by saying this art form is not terribly popular these days.

When I was doing a writing degree in university, only a small handful of my classmates choose to pursue poetry, but only because their hearts were fully committed to the fading craft. They knew going in that their life path wasn’t going to lead to being on Forbes’ top earners’ list, or gracing the pages of US Weekly. That’s not what poetry is about.

That said, spend some time with those who have chosen to devote their lives to poetry, or an incarnation of it, and I dare you not to leave feeling at least slightly roused. That’s what happened to me recently when I stumbled upon a poetry slam at Supermarket in Kensington.

Poetry slams are similar to stand-up in that a performer is allotted a certain amount of time under a spotlight to recount a story using pacing, intonation and rhythm — but the tone isn’t expected to be funny (although often it is).

“It’s such a range of material,” says David Silverberg, artistic director of Toronto Poetry Slam, “It astounds people who think poetry is T.S. Eliot and (William) Wordsworth, and realize that ‘Hey, this stuff is pretty relevant to my daily experience.’ ”

On the night I went, slam artists performed poems about attempted suicides, growing up black in the South, and a bear in search of honey. If a poet lost his or her train of thought a.k.a. “dropping a poem,” audience members would snap, which is a way to show support or enthusiasm, in lieu of clapping or hollering. 

It was a supportive, enthusiastic and full crowd that proved poetry is not dead. Rather, it’s living a full, healthy life, at least to those who care.

“It is such a niche art form so it’s going to foster a community,” says Silverberg of the slam fans.

There’s a regular slam at the Drake, which generally sells out. The next one is this Saturday. Go to torontopoetryslam.com for more information.