Following are several link to spoken word poetry readings. Listen to
two and comment on your favorite poet. Think of spoken word as somewhat
analogous to rap music in that both often depict harsh realities
existing in the world. Let this comment also serve as a warning that
some of the links breach sensitive topics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhZU0uEpi5A (Andrea Gibson discusses the conflicting nature of life).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDzshjFKuYE
(Andrea Gibson speaks on the affects of rape. This was the first spoken
word poet I ever listened to years ago. I fell in love with her works).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHaw3SRL-3Q
(Alvin Lau recites a beautiful and powerful poem about his sister's
marriage; his sister is lesbian).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjqqZyfpeUQ (Alvin Lau performs an energetic and incredible tribute to breakdancing).
My favorite poet was Andrea Gibson. I choose to watch her poem "Blue Blanket" which gave me chills. I never seen a person tell their poems like that, spoke with strength and depth. She spoke as the person from her poem would speak, breathless. The spoken word was " what are you gonna tell your daughter." I love towards the ending she says "she not asking what are you gonna tell your daughter, she asking what you gonna teach your son." She's talking about sexual violence and the effects it can take upon a person.
ReplyDeleteThe second poem is called "Dive". She begins by saying how she can love and hate life at the same time. Her spoken word is "See, life doesn't rhyme." My favorite line is "it's choking on your beliefs. it's your worst sin saving your f****** life." I think it's because the way that she said it that grip my attention. Then I heard her last line and it made me speechless, "and you teach your sons and daughters
there are sharks in the water
but the only way to survive
is to breathe deep
and dive."
What I think of the last line is how, there's never a right way to live or survive life you just have to take a dive into the world and see if you can survive what's coming towards you.
I like Alvin Lau the best. I like the way he describes his sister and her significant others love as "a fire" between two girls. His mentions to the lake of fire were enticing, and you can tell he's really passionate about acceptance. His other piece about breakdancing was fun because he danced while he did it. I enjoyed it. It made me want to learn how to do that "Mystic Art".
ReplyDeleteWhile i was watching Alvin Lau energetic and incredible tribute to break dancing. I felt the energy of the words he was releasing.He was inspiring to watch.He has a talent that is amazing. The story that he told is similar to mine because i am a dancer and this poem was captivating to watch.It was entertaining to watch because it also sounded like he was rapping in a way. He described everything very vivid i enjoyed watching the video allot.
ReplyDeleteGabriela Cuevas
ReplyDeleteI really loved both of Alvin Lau's poems. He brings such energy and passion into the way he performs his poems, which is one of the reason I enjoyed them so much. It was moving seeing how Alvin has so importance in seeing his sister happy and his for break dancing. .
Andrea Gibson's poem "Blue Blanket" is extremely powerful. Never have I heard a poem that clearly states the pain of being raped. It is horrible to know how someone's dreams can be taken away from them in an instant. To live in fear of others, not trust anyone, to have that memory inside of you at all times is as if one was living in hell. The part that touched me was here last verse, "What will we teach to our sons?" The way I interpreted it was that what morals will we teach our sons to understand a woman must be respected. How will boys grow up knowing how to control themselves against this type of violence? It is in our hands to teach our children the correct path, to not hurt others. I respect Andrea for reading this type of poem.
ReplyDeleteSelena Martinez
ReplyDeleteWow. I cannot believe how much this poem really got to me. Like its as if i can imagine the rape or sexual violence happening and the fear the girl went through. It's beyond crazy. Like she's right. Why do people do this? Aren't you suppose to be raised to grow and protect a woman with respect? Sexual Violence affects anyone and everyone.
I actually viewed all the videos. Both poets were great but I honestly have to say my favorite was Andrea Gibson. Although both poets spoke strongly and passionate, I found Gibson to be much easier to understand. She has a good sense of humor as well.
ReplyDeleteI watched two videos, one with Andrea about Rape and the other was Alvin's video about his gay sister. My favorite Poet was Alvin because he talked more from experience. He describes his sister's heartbreak and suffrage from not being able to live a happy marriage because society does not accept it. He says he wants others to be accepted for who they are and "marriage is about LOVE and nothing else matters".
ReplyDeleteI watched both the poets by Andrea Gibson I was touched by each one of them. Blue Blanket just left me speechless. She talks about rape and how going through can change and cause so much pain in a person. Where they can being to doubt and feel trapped abut who they are. They are scared to life their life. I love how so makes it feel like she went through and how we can feel the pain. The ending was shocking because to me because rape is something that needs to be stopped. We should teach of the damage it can cause to our children. They need to know that it is wrong. For the second poem Dive, it talks about how life is both about pain and happiness, a love and hate feeling. The reason for this is true because there well be situations that will come your way and you might suffer a lot because of it. There are happy moments that come with your life as well. So all you can do is tell your children and people that in this world or "water" there are problems or "sharks" but they have to be prepared and aware "breathe" and "dive into it" or live their life.
ReplyDeleteI liked Alvin's video about breakdancing he was able to share his peom and show his audince the beauty of breakdancing. I also like Andrea's poem "Dive" how she said life can be cruel but it is a wonderful thing to live is very agreeable.
ReplyDeleteI watched Andrea Gibson -"Blue Blanket" first and I was completely astonished by the creativity in her words. Her words drove me to feel exactly how a mother would feel on what to tell her daughter after the tragic event. Then I watched "Dive" and again I felt captivated by the way Gibson's words flowed through my body. I got the chills. I became very interested in the other speaker, so I watched Alvin Lau's videos. He also is very creative and is entertaining. Between Gibson and Lau's videos, I must say that my favorite poet would have to be Andrea Gibson. She gives words and whole new meaning and feeling, which completely blew my mind away!
ReplyDelete