FeaturesFold Augustinian the
The Official Student Newspaper of the University of San Agustin • Iloilo City, Philippines
Volume LXI Number 3 • May 15, 2016
Spoken Poetry: More than what the pen suggests BECAUSE JUST LIKE WRITTEN POETRY, SPOKEN WORD POETRY CAN ALSO TUG AT THE HEARTSTRINGS OF POETRY MAVENS by Rochelle Mae M. Muzones and Armie Therese C. Penuela Artwork by Herod t. montiel
Uttering his deepest feelings from within, hundreds of hearts are pierced, myriads of memories are reminisced and shattering sentiments are felt. His crestfallen voice echoes his long-endured melancholy. Every tumultuous word that he utters causes a tingling feeling of sympathy and guilt to his listeners. He shouts, condemns and begs as though his whole life depends on the throng before him. He looks at everyone, as if they were the culprit who hurt and deceived him. He was betrayed and left with no escape but to express himself in a melodramatic way.
From Pen to Microphone History accounts for poetry to be passed from generation to generation through oral tradition. Our ancestors had unknowingly used poetry in their day to day interaction with each other before. Back in the mid 1980s, Marc Kelly Smith, a Chicago poet who is also known as “Slampapi” in America, unfolded the tale of spoken poetry. He wanted to bring in looser poetry
medium because he deemed that academic poetry was too structured and stuffy. Out of his desire to create something new for the senses of those who love poetry, he initiated the first-ever National Poetry Slam in 1990 and that annual competition still goes on today. Perhaps, with the advent of technology, spoken poetry is little by little made known to the public. Currently, a growing number of spoken word poetry enthusiasts and advocates boom in bars and cafés around the country and widely welcome those who are willing to listen to their poems and those who are willing to perform a poem, too. Luckily, more and more people have accepted the challenge to do something, which captures other people’s attention not because it is wrong but because it is new to their eyes and ears. Presently, more spoken word poets have taken the spotlight and continued to persuade and influence people. Beauty of Being Different Performance poetry is written to be enacted. Words are accompanied with
campus life
Kinship beyond race and culture Article at Page B7
emotions, which are vividly done to be brought alive in front of people. Because the audience depends merely on what they hear, words to be used should be understandable and definite for the message to be easily grasped by the audience. Spoken Word Poetry, despite its manifestation of creativity, is considered odd and rare to the masses. Few courageous and artistic people dared to engage themselves in it. Standing up before a crowd, acting your heart out and receiving criticisms from the viewers is never easy. Spoken poets may seem crazy, very dramatic, and exaggerated, but they do not fail to bring people to tears or laughter. Caught in the Act Many have misinterpreted what spoken poetry really is. Most people, especially teenagers, think that spoken poetry is about giving away all these “hugot” and “patama” lines. Some also think that it is as easy as a-b-c wherein you will just go on stage and heave your feelings to the public. However, for the 26-year-old
features
How a candle changed the world Article at Page B6
photos taken from / abscbn.com
Theatre actor or a drama superstar — this might be the most probable way you would recognize the man described above. Sadly, you didn’t guess right. He is a poet but, not the mundane kind of poet you might be thinking of. He is a spoken word poet. Poetry is an extension of its writer. When we think of poetry, a girl in a silent place holding a pen or facing a monitor screen and expressing herself through ink or through characters in a monitor screen would always enter our mind. There are no worries of other people’s reaction to it because it is freely done by the writer for himself.
spoken word artist Juan Miguel Severo, spoken word has certain artistry to it, how it uses the spoken voice to inspire, to express, to move. Juan Miguel Severo is a name that everybody would always attach to Spoken Word Poetry. As he takes the spotlight, words transform to become swords piercing the hearts of his listeners. Every time he voices out his experiences and heartbreaks, words are electrifying and different emotions wrap up the atmosphere. A newspaper columnist even called him as the “walking museum of brilliance.” His impeccable way of bursting his emotions constantly awe the crowd. Recently, Ilonggos were fortunate to witness him perform on stage. Seeing him blurt out words and manifest his emotions on YouTube is quite terrifying but hearing his voice in person was an exquisite experience to those who have witnessed his show. This wordsmith had brought fire on social media after his videos became viral. Some of his famous pieces were “Isang Letra,” “Maliwanag ang Langit,” “Madilim ang Gabi,” “Basang Sapatos” — a translation of Sarah Kay’s “Postcards” — and “Mga Basang Unan”. In his works, he talked about love, lost, regret, brokenness and even moving on. Before delivering his last piece, he asked the audience
to wait for a moment, saying, “Wait lang. Masyado ninyo akong pinasaya, kailangan ko munang alalahanin ’yong tulang ’yon.” After a few minutes, he started delivering the lines of “Ang Huling Tulang Isusulat ko Para Sa’yo”, with his signature closing words, “Iniibig kita, at ubos na ubos na ako”, capping off the event. Things cannot be considered wrong just because only a few people have done it. Sometimes, a brave heart
and soul just has to take the challenge of discovering something fresh. Breaking free from the usual routines and systems is quite tough, but we will be shocked to know that sometimes the deviants are more convincing and effective compared to the standards we set. Reading the phrase, “Iniibig kita, at ubos na ubos na ako”, may ignite pain and hurt, but hearing them from spoken poets, is re-living and embracing the power that words have over our soul.
spectacle
Fantastically Furry Article at Page B5