Caribbean Beat — 25th Anniversary Edition — March/April 2017 (#144)

word of mouth
Dispatches from our correspondents around the Caribbean and further afield
Seth Sylvester, 2016
champion of the First
Citizens National Poetry
Slam
Grand slam
courtesy the 2 cents movement
Ariana Herbert on experiencing
T&T’s national spoken word
poetry slam — on stage and in
the audience
In the latter quarter of my brief existence, I’ve often found
myself in strange and surprising situations. But perhaps the
best of these remains mistakenly auditioning for the largest
spoken word competition in the Caribbean. Quite entirely through
orchestrated actions of the universe — or perhaps because my
brother got me there by telling me it was just an open mic — in
2014 I found myself in the semi-finals for what was then called the
Verses Bocas Poetry Slam, and a year later in the finals.
Now called the First Citizens National Poetry Slam, and
nationally established as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest
poetry platforms, the competition is the closing event of the
annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest, coordinated by the literary festival
and its partners the 2 Cents Movement. (This year the slam
finals happen on Sunday 30 April, at the National Academy for
Performing Arts in Port of Spain.)
Competing for a TT$20,000 grand prize among thirteen other
participants in front of internationally renowned judges is not
an opportunity that arises easily — nor one that any of us poets
treats lightly. It is a respected space that demands we challenge
our craft and commit to excellence.
Onstage, there is something truly magical about that
hushed darkness before the spotlight bathes you, feeling a
performance pour out of your body, and knowing you have but
a few minutes to invite an audience of over a thousand people
to share part of you. In the Caribbean spoken word arena, this
experience is unparalleled.
And for those in the audience? The real beauty is being
submerged in a live story and feeling the words sing around you,
surging throughout your body. Whether you feel refreshed or
stung, an excellent piece insists a change upon you.
Last year’s slam finals saw fourteen artists judged by
T&T performance legends Paul Keens-Douglas and Wendell
Manwarren, alongside Circle of Poets president Nicholas Sosa,
Boston University professor Laurence Breiner, and Barbadian
writer Nailah Folami Imoja. The event was graced with guest
performances by T&T’s Minister of Tourism, Shamfa Cudjoe,
alongside Shineque Saunders, champion of the Courts Bocas
Speak Out Intercol 2016 — T&T’s national schools spoken
word competition.
With topics that ranged from the sombre to the hilarious,
the participants that night commanded the stage. There came
quiet singed by blistering lines of social critique, raucous times
of delight in brilliantly ridiculous snippets, and an aftermath of
respect for the sheer cunning of the poets. Seth Sylvester, the
2016 winner, delved into a personal narrative that clutched the
audience and then released them to a standing ovation. There
is something undeniably human about connecting to someone
else’s experience, and Seth’s performance to this day affects me.
My favourite part is always when someone else goes, I thought
it was only me . . . n
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