ELLE:What can one expect at a poetry slam?
ARIELLE COTTINGHAM:Poetry slams are competitions
that are judged by audience members chosen at random- any kind of poetry can be read. Political pieces do
tend to dominate the arena, since a competition so
heavily centred around connecting to an audience on
an emotional level tends to encourage themes that will
elicit deeply emotional responses, but I’ve seen
hilarious poems with fruit puns and gorgeous,
intimately detailed love poems beat out more serious
political pieces on slam stages.
ELLE:What’s the biggest misconception?
AC:That p¢ ě¢ǰ ¢Ȭ¢
thingfor hipsters and snooty intellectuals. The whole
point of choosing random audience members as
judges is to encourage regular people to engage
withan art form that was, until recently, fading from
the public consciousness. You don’t have to be an
academic to have an opinion about poetry. You just
have to show up and listen.
ELLE: There’s an inherent power in this kind of
performance. Why do you believe that is?
AC:I think the immediacy of a slam, with a poet standing
right in front of you, competing with other poets to
have the best connection they can with you, gives it
a sense of urgency that’s unique to live performance.
Ina world where people are increasingly connected by
phone or computer screens, watching something live
and truly listening can be a powerful experience that
stays with you long after the poet has left the stage.
ELLE:Ashley Judd performing the poem “I Am A Nasty
Woman” at the Women’s March On Washington felt
like a turning point.
AC: Poetry performances at protests and political
marches speak to that sense of urgency, and often the
audiences at protests and marches will be open to
themessage the poets are trying to get across. My
mother was (and still is) fond of telling me that people
rarely remember what you say, but they will always
remember how you made them feel. The emotional
Ȭ
a protest will persist even through the fatigue of
ę ǰĴǯ
ELLE:As someone who is more deeply connected
to this community, was Judd’s performance the
ę
thegeneral public took notice?
AC:Performance poetry has had a recent surge in
popularity again, and I think it can act as a particularly
useful social barometer. I watched one of my favourite
poets in Australia walk away from a regional Australian
Poetry Slam heat last year with the lowest score of the
evening after doing a piece about how Muslim women
don’t need to be saved by white feminism (ie, feminism
that doesn’t recognise intersectionality). Two months
later, she won the biggest slam in Melbourne
by alandslide. As an outspoken feminist who wears
a hijab in a society that’s distinctly hostile to women
ǰ Ĵ ǰ
less making her voice and her opinions heard, is
Ȯ ¢ě¢
¢ ě ǯ ¢ s aren’t
fair, and it’s true – the most memorable poem of the
night won’t always determine the winner. Theaudience
does, and how the audience leans is often an indicator of
the wider society of which they are apart.GRANDSLAM
In times of subjugation or uncertainty, the power of the spoken word can’t be overrated.
Arielle Cottingham, the 24-year-oldwinner of the 2016 Australian Poetry Slam,
explains why the art form is more influential than everHANDSUP
Ashley
Judd at the
Women’s
March“I am a woman with thoughts and questions
and shit to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say
if I’m strong. You will not determine my
story – I will.”– AMY SCHUMER74 ELLE AUSTRALIA