Comments for Melbourne Spoken Word

http://melbournespokenword.com
The online connection to Melbourne’s Spoken Word scene
Wed, 23 May 2012 09:57:13 +0000
hourly
1
http://wordpress.com/

http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/05/02/melbourne-spoken-word-artists-at-the-emerging-writers-festival/#comment-125
Wed, 23 May 2012 09:57:13 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=201#comment-125

I am very excited after reading about emerging writers’ festival. I agree with you It is definitely worth checking out for both writers and lovers of words.
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-84
Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:34:35 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-84

I sent a response direct to your page contact details.
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-83
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:27:31 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-83

damn annerleigh.. who was it that responded to you in that way? if you don’t mind me asking..
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-81
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:43:44 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-81

I think we were just asking for Australian Poetry to become more relevant and more visible. And I entirely agree with Ben.
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-80
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 05:33:29 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-80

Tom seems to have brought the level of discussion down a bit. If merely criticising a body such as AP means our events won’t be promoted, then I don’t think I’d want to have anything to do with AP but thankfully, AP not only shared that page before we wrote this, they posted our page after as well, which, along with their comment, indicates to me that they do want to improve.

We don’t want AP all to ourselves nor did I claim they do ‘nothing’ for spoken word, but we just want as much recognition as we deserve, and we think we deserve a little more because, despite your accusations of pretention, and as Annerleigh rightly pointed out, spoken word connects with new audiences far better than that image of stuffy academic page poetry that prides itself on needing a Melbourne Uni literature degree to understand it.

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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-79
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:20:47 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-79

Retribution from Tom and AP (see above)? “Plus after this article, which they have obviously read, I think they’ll be less inclined to go to any of yours. They are not obligated to feature an event on their site, and I bet they wont be jumping out of their skins to feature yours anymore.” Not exactly very accommodating.
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-78
Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:34:17 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-78

Too much pretension? I’m sorry Tom, I have no issue with anything else you have mentioned, except this – Spoken word is a place for folks like myself who are not confident to put words to paper, who lack that talent but want to be heard. There is small access for people with mental health issues, criminal justice backgrounds and disability to have their words published in the mainstream, and they are even less likely to know about these avenues. This is a truth – from my work in the field. To see a man on the podium with his ticks, and his anger and frustration, shaping words which many people will never hear is the only reason I want to write, read and listen to poetry. You can present to me those that have forged through this barrier but the statistics are compelling, not only is it a small number, it’s a struggle for these groups even more so than the rest of us – and I think walking into a pub where the only struggle I have to be heard is being there early enough to write my name on a board – a beautiful thing.
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-77
Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:55:47 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-77

I am both a page and performance poet. Though I have received some recognition in competitions and from Australian Poetry through ‘Poem Of The Week’ and other initiatives, the spoken word scene has done more for my growth as a poet than any poetry organization. The extraordinary wordsmiths and performers that I have had the opportunity to watch, collaborate with and learn from on the grassroots scene has been more of a literary education than my Professional Writing degree. The immediate live response to your work received is something that cannot be witnessed when a poem is published in a magazine and anthology. Life as a poet in Melbourne would be rather barren without this vibrant spoken word scene. The event I have organized at the Williamstown Literary Festival called ‘Bringing Poetry To The Mainstream’ aims to bring these two worlds together for discussion: Paul Kooperman talking with grassroots performance poets Omar Musa, Jessica Alice and myself. We shall see where it leads…
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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-76
Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:12:38 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-76

Hmmm. You all seem to be a bit greedy, wanting all of AP to yourselves. They are a TINY organisation, and they can’t read minds, and their calendar is a service that you should appreciate not diss. If you want them to help you, why slander them, especially as I see they featured you on their facebook and twitter 3 days before you write this article saying that they never support you!?!?!?! HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT!!

They service the WHOLE COUNTRY and so can therefore only dedicate 1/7th of their time to Victoria, let alone melbourne, let alone performance poetry events. I’m a poet but don’t like performance poetry – too much pretension – and AP have always been fine to me. You just need to understand that it is a big world out there and you can’t name and shame an organisation for not holding your hand every step of the way.

And as for seeing them around, who walks into a gig and says “EVERYONE! Stop what you’re doing! I’m from AP!”. Plus after this article, which they have obviously read, I think they’ll be less inclined to go to any of yours. They are not obligated to feature an event on their site, and I bet they wont be jumping out of their skins to feature yours anymore.

The whole world does not revolve around you folk, as much as I’m sure you would like to believe it. Grow up.

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http://melbournespokenword.com/2012/04/15/where-are-australian-poetry/#comment-75
Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:53:37 +0000 http://melbournespokenword.com/?p=158#comment-75

Well why is it called ‘Australian Poetry’ when it does not support or represent performance poetry? That’s a massive part of the poetry in Australia, it’s amongst the popular poetry, it’s largely self funded (as pointed out), therefore it is commercially successful in some way (though certain people contribute huge amounts of volunteer labour), and it’s always fresh and new and live. It reaches people in all walks of life, it is not elitist. One of the comments I love hearing from audience members is, ‘I like your poetry because I can understand it’. Randall’s point is that where is an absence of elitism there will be an absence of elitist state structures, and I think he has a real point. But let’s not call it ‘Australian Poetry’, let’s call it ‘Unspoken poetry’, or something.
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