Poetry Slam Brings Words To Life

“That was a poet, and that was a poem,” said Influence, the host of the Adult Invitational Poetry Slam — part of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in partnership with The Word — held at Yale’s Schwarzman Center on Wednesday afternoon. In this way he followed up each of the 10 artists who performed their spoken word poetry: a simple acknowledgement that nevertheless conveyed a deep respect for the art form.

Spoken word poetry is a form of writing so vivid, so alive, that to confine it to the page saps it of half its life’s blood. The performers all brought something to their acts that transformed the word into a limpid, animal thing, reeling in the audience and making them feel and think about the world from new angles.

The slam was also a competition. The poets were given three minutes each to share their work, with a 10-second grace period. They were then scored by five judges on a scale of 0 – 10 (decimals permitted). Their combined score dictated which of the artists were permitted to advance forward into the next round. With 10 poets, three rounds, and a prize of $1,000, the competition was tight.

First up, Amari shared a touching tribute to the death of her father. Lyrical Faith held forth on the history of abortion for Black women. Johnny Sensei and Oso expounded on coming to terms with their own identities and paving their ways in life. Kimolee Eryn, Rudy Ru, and Goddess Tymani Rain talked about growing up as people of color and the disadvantages the world threw at them. Yex offered an impassioned letter to her daughter, wishing she could protect her from the indifference or outright hostility of the police. An Urban Nerd talked about teachers not being paid enough, and Nadia Sims shared a piece on the fallacies of the American Dream. Each poet offered a story that was personal and relatable, shedding light on the issue or injustice they brought to the stage.

By the third round, the competition had been bisected. The five remaining contestants each shared their third poem, with all the vim and vigor that they had brought to the first. Oso performed an impassioned perspective on an argument with an unnamed opponent that sounded like the most eloquent version of every fight that plays out within your head. ​“I can count on both hands the number of times I fought my demons and nobody was around to see it,” he said. This time, he had an audience, and they were rooting for him every step of the way.

Lyrical Faith shared ​“seven lessons learned at the 2020 protest,” a work of vehement passion that remained relevant three years after the event. She called out white protesters for always wanting ​“an invitation to the cookout,” saying that the protest was the cookout, and they should prepare to fight for Black rights if they expected to be included.

Goddess Tymani Rain performed with her whole body, not just her voice. She stamped her feet, threw her arms into the air, and treated the poem like a song that only she knew how to dance to. Her poem dealt with insecurity and coming to terms with her identity, both physical features and hidden history. ​“How is your face so clean?” she recalled people asking her. ​“Because I just make my pain invisible.”

Yex contributed a piece on violence against Black communities. ​“This is for the Black stories they never told, the names that were more than words,” she said. Now Yex was giving voice to those stories and those names. ​“I poise myself to raise hell and my voice,” she said, and the audience roared along with her.

Rudy Ru finished the night with a hilarious story about falling for a girl at a club and asking her to dance, only to have her vanish before he even learned her name. He threw himself around the stage, singing and re-enacting the interaction, until the audience was laughing and singing alongside him.

When the judges tallied up their votes, Goddess Tymani Rain took third place with 88.9 points. Yex came in second with 89.2, and Rudy Ru was the winner with 89.3 points — a photo finish. The audience was dispatched with a new perspective on life, and heads swimming with words. Those were poets, and that was poetry.

Visit the website of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas for a full listing of events through the rest of June.