Adam Hadley — who’s represented the ACT three times at the National Poetry Slam Finals — is a feature performer as well as facilitator of this year’s event.
Slam poetry is a burgeoning art form... how does it differ from a battle rap between two emcees?
A slam is an inclusive, community focused poetry event that looks to create an open dialogue between experienced performers, new performers, audience members and everyone in between.
Can you read from notes while performing?
YOU SURE CAN, FRIEND. Poets are encouraged to do whatever they like in their performance so long as the work is original, under two minutes and does not involve any costumes, props, backing tracks, etc. You can memorise your poem or make up your poem on the spot or read your poem or use your body to interpret wind for two minutes.
The genre originated in Chicago in the 1980s, right?
It did. It started in 1984 with a guy called Marc So What Smith as a reaction to what was seen as staid, boring poetry readings. It started in New York at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe a few years later, hosted by a guy called Bob Holman. Bear in mind, I get all my information from Wikipedia — just like our environment minister! Slam poetry can involve political commentary. I met Bob Holman last year; he’s a really inspiring guy who knows a lot about dog racing.
How strong is the Australian scene?
The Australian scene is great with new slams popping up all over the place all the time. One of the great things about slam is that you don't need to ask anyone permission to start your own poetry slam. Stop reading this interview and go and start a poetry slam. There are loads of great poets operating in Australia, some slammers, some who will put their hands in your mouth to stop you talking if you refer to them as slammers.
Adam Hadley performing a slamHow do you dispel the stigma associated with poetry that the majority of people have learned via high school text books?
You get out there and you do some goddam fucking marvellous poetry. Slam poets like Emilie Zoe Baker from Melbourne and David Stavanger in Brisbane and about a billion other poets in other places go into schools to remind students and teachers and parents that poetry is a living art form. Writing poetry is a resource that is available to anyone. You do not need permission, a degree, or the 'P' key on your keyboard to start writing and performing poetry, no matter how much some members of the academic poetry community may be reading this article and attempting to force choke me.
Is it a discipline that’s dominated by the guys? Or are the girls out in force as well?
Poetry slam can be a real sausage fest sometimes, and although it is a form designed for inclusiveness you can often see a slam that lacks different voices, whether it be along lines of gender, colour, ethnicity or language. These are issues that are endemic right across the arts and everything else in Australia, but a great way to deal with it is to point it out and talk about it. There are some amazing female poets operating in Brisbane like Angela Peita (co-founder of Ruckus Slam), Pascalle Burton, Tessa Rose, Des, and that is but the tip of the lady poet iceberg.
Given it's a relatively new discipline, are 'slammers' relatively young? Or are there Gen Xers getting involved? Alternatively, would Banjo Paterson have being just at home at a slam?
You keep saying slam is a relatively new discipline, but oral poetry traditions are one of the oldest art forms we have. The format of poetry slam may have only been around for 30 years, but the tradition of getting up in front of people and talking about ourselves has been with us since we crawled out of the primordial sludge and instantly began lamenting how much easier things were back then. Banjo Paterson's only problem would be the two minute rule. He couldn't ask for a fucking sandwich without writing 800 rhyming lines about how nice horses are. For the most part, slam, especially the National Slam, has a huge range of ages, from ten-year-olds doing bush poetry about pig shooting to one-hundred-and-ten-year-olds doing stream of consciousness haiku about how much they love drift racing. That might have been a dream I had.
For those budding spoken word poets out there who haven't tried performing in front of a live audience, what do you recommend?
The only way to practice doing a poem in front of an audience is to do poems in front of an audience. Get out as much as you can to open mic nights like Poetry Open Words or Speedpoets to test out your work in a non competitive way. The slam poetry community is generally inclusive. Remember that in a slam the points aren't the point, the point is the point: and that point is to have a good time. Do a poem that is true for you, that is about something you want to talk about, not something you think is going to win.
Is there hours upon hours of mirror time involved perfecting each 'slam'?
If by 'hours' you mean days and by 'mirror' you mean hugging your knees to your chest and sobbing and by 'time' you mean time, then yes.
What sort of bling does a modern spoken word poet need to remain relevant (asked with tongue firmly in cheek!!)?
A bespoke hemp and chia seed beard. An ironic wrist tattoo of a swallow with Fred Durst's face. A shot of artisnal whiskey in a mason jar made out of hessian. Socks and thongs. Something something kale, something something fixie. A fedora, porkpie or hat of equivalent dickishness. Forelock of Bert Newton's pubic hair. I'm really not sure what this question means.
The Brisbane heat of the Australian Poetry Slam takes place at the State Library Of Queensland Friday 5th September. The State Final will be held at the same venue on Friday 26th September.
