Bookend wins for Terms None!
Terms took the prize on Memorial Day and brought it home again last night at the largest MauiSLAM! yet held at the War & Peace Art Exhibit in Makawao, Maui.
200 or so made their way to the space in Makawao as the Maui Artists for Peace hosted MauiSLAM! Maui's only monthly performance poetry competition. 30 poets from 7 to 70 spit their verses as living canvases were adorned with a mural of serenity and peace.
Eddie Float and Rudy Esquire rocked the space as the crowd filed in through the countries largest war and peace art exhibit in the country; and more works continue to come in with only five days left before the official close of the exhibit.
DJ Tobin filled the air with beats between the first time slammers, serious contenders and previous winners like Pat Masumoto, Jahsun, Lawrence Hill, Michael P, Frank Rich and Terms None.
G503 aka Zack Williams, Firetender & Terms all scored 29 and with Firetenders earl departure, only G5 & Terms bring it back to the stage. Terms took the tie breaker and the $100 for the second month in a row as the theme of war & peace fueled the passion of this incredible performer.
Video highlights coming to the site soon.
Mahalo to all the poets, judges and supporters of MauiSLAM! and the Maui Artists for Peace!
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
Peace,
D
4 comments:
On June 24th, I was part of a Poetry Slam held at the War and Peace Art Exhibition in Makawao. I was just congratulated by an e-mail (midnight 6/25) on my having been in a three-way tie for first place.
I did what?
The best I can do, after first profoundly apologizing for not being a part of the final festivities, is to share my experience right now, fresh and with little editing.
To be perfectly honest, the Poetry Slam, as an art form, has been pretty much off my radar screen. I’d have to attribute that to simply being on a different track, following a different set of metaphors for my personal expression. Recently, it’s all been about singing/songwriting for me, and my photography and writing.
Within the Slam world (is that what you’d call it?), I’m a stranger in a strange land. I’m also 56 years old, not that I think I am, but in some things I actually have an accurate perception of where I fit in. Like I said, Slam just isn’t my metaphor. No judgment here.
From what I understood of the form, it was supposed to be more like what we heard from Terms: Lotsa rhythm and boom-shakas and the arms and hands twitching just so. (This characterization alone should be a pretty fair indicator of my ignorance…and age!). That’s why I didn’t even consider the thought until the day of the event.
But something else is going on with me. You see I’ve been on-site here pretty much every day since the exhibit opened. Part of my commitment has been to find vehicles to express myself in relation to what I see as parts of the human condition that contribute to war. I’m not really interested in politics or protests for that matter, I’m interested in finding what beats in me that I do not want to express, but must express.
About six months ago, I wrote a song called Stop Killing Our Children! I had spent the last year reading a lot of books that had to do with wars during the times of my life and all of a sudden, it dawned on me that wars are won by breaking the back of the enemy by murdering their innocent. It’s what we do!
I was literally devastated at the realization and this song came through me and was complete in just a couple days. And then, I started performing it…
The lyrics of my song are deeply personal to me. So much so that when it came out of me, I had to say I’d sing it no matter what the response to it would be. It’s heavy, I know, but like a New Yorker (which I am) it doesn’t mess around and it must be heard!
But at the venues where I’d play the song, even singing my heart out, I was amazed at how few people paused to really listen to what I was singing, how few people stopped the drinking eating and gabbing. Especially after the first time I’d plea “Stop Killing Our Children!” A lot of people seemed to zone out.
So there has been a part of me asking myself, “Is this too heavy for people to hear and respond to or build on?” I’m challenging you, me and everybody Big Time here, I know it!
I won’t say I lost confidence in the song, but I started to get very selective about the audience I’d sing it to. When I would, I’d give it all I had, and often feel vulnerable proportionally to the number of people who didn’t listen. Believe me, I’d notice!
When I checked in with Dave to see if I could do this song I had written, spoken word, in the event (still not even thinking in terms of “contest”), it was because I wanted to express myself in full and complete proportion to what I felt about my words in a different form and a different venue, to see if I could really connect.
I had noticed that at venues where just poetry was being done, the people tended to listen, whereas the audiences I was playing music to didn’t seem to have that sort of agreement. My entry, then, was, in part, a challenge to myself to stretch and fully express myself to an audience that was actually listening.
This was quite scary to me. I don’t suffer from stage fright, but that night, I was shaking. My intent was to speak to the audience as if it would really make a difference, and when I got on stage, I lost myself in that task. Being “better” than anyone else was not an issue.
Off stage now, suddenly I’m very aware that there are five judges that are rating me. Here’s what I hear: 10-10-9-8-7. Here’s what I’m thinking; “Holy Crap! I got two tens and a nine!” and, then, “Hey, with two Tens and a Nine, what’s with the Seven?!” and then, “I could actually win this thing?” and then, “Maybe I oughta pay attention.”
All I knew was a bunch more people went up and I did pay attention to the ratings of the judges. I counted Lizz as getting one more point than I and then someone else scored more points than me, and, quite frankly, the biggest part of me was relieved I was out of the loop of the competition. Now, I could bask in my experience.
I had done my job… I was satisfied. And YES I was high as a kite after having had the audience call out with me “Stop Killing Our Children!” a few times. I really had the audience with me and that was my prize. I could have an effect!
I know nothing about scoring. Tonight I read we each got 29 points. How did that happen with the judges working with 50 points per competitor? I never took the time to ask, because after the initial ego adrenaline-rush of “Hey I could WIN this thing!” passed after I counted other people had more points than me, quite frankly, I walked around dazed at the impact of what I had just experienced until my ride home said she was ready to go.
By that time, I was ready to leave because I was tired and I didn’t think in terms of the winning or the losing. All I knew was that I connected and few things in my life have felt so right! Sticking around specifically for praise didn’t even occur to me.
But I do have a dilemma. I noticed my pictures were not part of the slide show. Could it be possible that I really wasn’t there, and that the best work of my life will never be seen?
...and I have no idea how I would have responded to a "second round" knowing that the reason for my participating had passed, my message was received, and the other guys deserve recognition for mastering the form of a contest that I barely knew I was in.
...wrong again, my picture is in the slide show. I just didn't recognize me. Will this artistic insecurity ever cease?
And many, many Mahalos to everyone part of this exhibit!
Great shots Dave! Love that you got "Depravities of War", "Peace Polls", or "I can no longer remain silent" in the backdrop... great visuals. can't wait to see video...
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