On Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, Guelph Spoken Word presented the 2016 Guelph Poetry Slam Finals at the Guelph Youth Music Centre (Did I mention that this was in Guelph?). The GYMC building is a wonderful combination of high ceilings, windows, wood, and stone. The space feels natural and open, perfect for fostering creativity. As cold as it was waiting in the entryway of the GYMC, the warmth of community quickly heated the space, making it come alive. It was barely past 7 p.m. and already a sign was being posted that the show was sold out.
As I found my seat and waited for the show to begin, I listened to the audience chatting away, their voices becoming a happy buzz that reverberated in my chest. The Facebook event explains that “[p]oets who have slammed three times or more during the regular season may qualify for an invitation to Finals. Those that accept their invitations to GPS Finals are competing for the title of Grand Slam Champion.”
The competing poets for the evening were: Atticus, E.Rratic, Fannon, Rafay, Eitan, Patrick, Bassam, Elise, and Truth Is…. Watching the competitors gathered on stage for a quick pre-show chat, they danced to Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”—positively oozing stage presence like its their business and setting the tone for the evening.
The enthusiastic and informative Beth Anne Ellipsis hosted the Finals. She kicked things off by inviting audience members to react to the poetry by snapping fingers and stomping feet or booing and hissing. Heckling wasn’t frowned upon here but welcomed. In fact, it wasn’t heckling at all; it was proof of engagement.
The GPS Finals was a judged competition that was comprised of three rounds; for each round, the poets were given three minutes to perform their work. In the first round alone these poets dug deep into the devastating aftermath of abuse, the sexualization of breastfeeding and breasts, the disintegration of effective communication, the continued effects of colonialism on racialized bodies, racially motivated police brutality, the physics of beauty, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and mental illness. The poets were each genuine, passionate, and thoughtful, as they took troubling topics and expertly weaved them into something beautiful enough to return sensitivity to the desensitized.
In addition to poetry, the featured performer for the evening was the musician D’eve Archer, who performed three songs. Archer’s melodious singing voice was altered with dreamy echoes and interspersed with beatboxing and clapping. Looping and layering these elements seamlessly, Archer’s music was powerful and pure sensuality. Fittingly, the audience gave her a standing ovation.
The second round of poems was equally intense and moving. E.Rratic, Fannon (who brought audience members to their feet on more than one occasion over the course of the night), and Eitan each left me teary-eyed. While all nine poets performed in the first two rounds, only the top five poets—Eitan, Bassam, E.Rratic, Fannon, and Elise—went on to the third round. These five poets will make up the 2016 Guelph Poetry Slam Team and represent Guelph in regional and national poetry slams.
At the end of the night, the top five were ranked as follows: Elise in fifth place, E.Rratic in fourth place, Eitan in third place, Fannon in second place, and Bassam in first place, which won him the title of Grand Slam Champion.
“The night was intense, amazing crowd, amazing talent, emotions running wild. I’m deeply honoured with being able to represent Guelph on the national level,” Bassam told The Ontarion at the end of the night. Bassam will represent Guelph at the 2016 Canadian Independent Poetry Slam.
If you’re not sure what a poetry slam is, and that’s preventing you from checking one out, then think of it as the hybridization of a rapper and an actor who performs monologues of emotionally charged social criticism. Sure, you can go YouTube “slam poetry,” but I’ve seen spoken word on YouTube and it’s a totally different experience seeing it live, seeing the audience speak up, seeing the competition, seeing the scores; that’s what makes it slam.