Hands up – who wants some poetry?

By Renee Liang

Last week I was a guest on the Auckland Fringe’s Late Night Campfire, an improv/variety/talk show run by my mates Mark and Steve. By way of a starter I asked the audience if they were scared of poetry, and got a few “yeps!”

I wasn’t surprised. The average Kiwi still has something of an allergy to the word ‘Poetry’, though call it ‘Spoken Word’ or ‘Rap’ and suddenly it’s cool. Yet more and more artists from other genres are using this word to describe their work.

There’s visual art poetry, the poetics of dance, even the poetics of science. This is not actual word poetry mixed with dance or paintings or whatever (though text may be involved), but as I understand it, more about the approach. Poetry is about distilling, clarifying, intensifying. Where art is concerned it’s the bees knees.

Good. So now we’re all clear that poetry is cool, let me talk about where you can find some. This week, I’ve been interviewing poets – visiting Chicago Def Jam poet Nikki Patin, Miriam Barr from our very own Literatti, beat poet Shane Hollands and poetry facilitator Grace Taylor of the South Auckland Poets Collective.

Having someone like Nikki around helps us to reflect on what’s happening in the arts community here. The Auckland poetry community is small – it may be a cliché but it does feel like family. We all know each other, collaborate, help out and dream together of making our work bigger, of taking it places. But Nikki pointed out that sometimes there’s no need to make it bigger, not if it’s good and the work is satisfying. She says that where she comes from, the need to be famous and recognised sometimes overshadows the fact that the work also needs to fulfil and be truly representative of …what? Of whoever you are and whoever you represent, I think.

Representing is what Grace Taylor talks about when she discusses the South Auckland Poets Collective (SAPC) showing their work in front of a new audience. This is a group of young people from South Auckland finding their voice through writing and performing poetry – they’re not just talking about it, they’re doing it for real. And having spent the last year or so perfecting their work in front of a supportive audience of mainly their own peers, they are ready to take it to the city (they perform at the Auckland Fringe this Saturday night.) What Grace says about understanding where people are coming from and being open to different voices is true, and that’s what’s so great about performing work in public. There’s no better way to get instant feedback.

Grace, like Miriam and Nikki, also talks about the healing power of poetry. Poetry doesn’t have to be confessional of course, but in terms of performance poetry it’s one of the best ways to get people listening. It’s that whole thing again about being open to people’s stories, and (at least where I come from), listening with respect.

Shane Hollands is no stranger to making his voice heard. He’s a grassroots poet, the archetype if you like. He says he’s prepared to go hungry in order to have the freedom to create (and among the people I know, this is not an isolated sentiment).

So. I promised to tell you where to find some poetry. Sorry to non Aucklanders, but you’ll just have to come and live in the coolest city for poetry (and that’s the published opinion of at least one international critic, so there). Poetry can be found at Poetry Live, every Tuesday night from 8 pm at the Thirsty Dog on K’Rd. There are many other gigs on in town – tonight Nikki Patin debuts her Phat Grrrl Revolution tour from 8 pm at the Wine Cellar, Friday Shane runs the marathon Kerouac Effect, and then Saturday night the SAPC perform their eye-opening collection of poetry from the Southside. And that’s just this week….watch out, the poets are in town!!!

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