As a writer and fan of spoken word poetry, I spend a significant amount of my time listening to the works of fellow artists; specifically I seek out spoken word poetry. I browse the web most days, and when I can manage it I'll always make it out to a local open mic or poetry slam. Now if you listen to as much spoken word as I have, you'll begin to find a lot of common threads. You see, the difference between two pieces isn't, generally, in the subject (a lot of themes are repeated many times over in this genre) but in the content. Five poets can get up, one after another, and all speak about loves lost, anxiety, social injustices, or the anxieties that haunt them and every single one of the pieces will feel like a vastly different experience, because it's the how of it, not the what, that makes their piece their piece. One of the most common topics for a spoken word piece (and, truly, for really any form of writing) in my experience is the call to action: it's a piece that implores the reader to do something, namely to write. I've heard dozens of people all asking me to write poetry, to express myself, to tell my story, and to join them in sharing, but far too often their message is a little bit too targeted. It's very rare that you find anyone at an open mic or a slam that isn't already a fan of the art, and if they're a fan there's a very good chance they've already tried their hand at it. So, for this week I want to extend the writer's call to action. I want to ask the people who don't find themselves in coffee shops on Thursday evenings or book stores after hours to take a step into that world for a moment.
It seems unlikely that this is the first time you've ever been told to try writing, and I'm sure if you have you've always given the same response: "I'm not a writer," or, "I'm no poet." True. But what you are is a person who's lived a life, likely just as complex and interesting as any of the thousands of "poets" out there sharing their work. One of the most tired phrases tossed around in the poet community is "No one can tell your story but you." It's used so heavily at this point that I'm tempted to call it a cliche, but it's gotten that way for two reasons: first, because it's so very true, and second, because no one believes us. So we keep saying it, hoping this time it'll stick. So if you won't believe that you have a story to tell, or that you can tell it better than the next guy, at least humor me: have you tried telling it yet? Until you do, how do you know, for a fact, that you aren't a poet?
This article isn't asking you to become a poet or a writer, I don't want you quitting your job to starve for the art, hell I don't even want you to do it more than once, but for the sake of the art and the community that's built around it I am asking you to give it a chance. Find something in you that you've always wanted to share, be it a funny story, a hard lesson learned, a memory you can't get rid of no matter how hard you try, and share it. Put your heart into it and just speak. It doesn't have to be pretty, it doesn't have to be flowery, and if you don't understand rhythm or line breaks it doesn't even have to be a poem: write a paragraph full of everything you've ever wanted to say and never had a chance to. Then, when you've got a page full of ink, go find the next open mic near you and share it. Just once. You never have to come back, you never have to talk to anyone in that coffee shop again, you can leave that chapter of your life behind you but before you do, give it a shot. Who knows, maybe you are a poet after all.
