Immediacy in Spoken Word

    When selecting a text to lead a discussion on, Date & Time was my first choice, as I was previously familiar with Phil Kaye and some of his work.  It was also particularly interesting for me to research the “history” component of the presentation, and explore the ways in which spoken-word poetry calls people to express themselves, as it reminded me of my own first encounters with spoken-word, when I attended open-mic nights at the Juniper Institute for Young Writers.  I resonate with so much of what Phil Kaye describes as the compelling immediacy that accompanies performed poetry, although it is an experience that I struggle to put into words.  As I read the first half of Kaye’s Date & Time, I considered the ways in which his storytelling, although rooted in beginnings, middles, and ends - speaks with a resolute immediacy that is rooted in the present moment.

    In his poem “Repetition”, Kaye reflects on past moments and experiences, yet his experiences so clearly bring him to a present moment.  He says, “my mother taught me / this trick / if you repeat something over / & over / again / it loses its meaning.”  The words that Kaye repeats intensify in meaning as the poem progresses, beginning with the trivial “homework”, moving towards, “family”, and “separation”, and culminating in, “I love you”.  His poem articulates the ways in which his stutter physically bound him to moments and forced words to hold meaning.  On paper, his poem reads with a continued pace.  However, performed, Kaye’s words build in meaning, falter, pause, and culminate with a much larger message.  The impact that his reflections on the past have in his present telling of this story is vast.

    Throughout my time working with students in the Baltimore City School System, I have been called to consider the importance of creating space for everyone’s stories to be told.  Currently, I am working on a creative writing service-learning project with Dream Academy students from Pimlico Elementary School.  These students all have a family member who is currently or formerly incarcerated and have thus been touched by the criminal justice system in sizable ways from an early age.  The creative writing prompts we work on allow the kids to be imaginative - they ask them who they want to be when they grow up, or what their dream home might look like. It has been inspiring for me to witness the ways in which these kids write, and more importantly, tell their stories.  They are witty, creative, and so authentic.  I see so much of Phil Kaye’s understanding of the pressing immediacy of telling one’s story through poetry reflected in the kids at Pimlico.  Their creative writing is a reminder to me of the importance of creating space for all stories.