This is a poem entitled “Pretty.” Katie Makkai performed this piece at the National Poetry Slam, a performance poetry competition where teams from across the country participate in a large-scale poetry slam. This piece is from the 2002 competition.
It is hard not to pay attention when someone begins a slam poem. Clearly it is different from just reciting or reading a poem out of a book. The feeling and raw emotion behind the words is what draws me to this art form; you can see from this clip that by the end of the piece the artist is almost crying with the depth of her emotion. The poets really feel the words they are saying, and that shows in their performances. In this particular piece, Makkai is expressing her detestation for the word “pretty” and questions society for making young women feel insecure about themselves. She recounts the story of her mother trying to “fix” her, as if how she was wasn’t enough, and vows that no daughter of hers will ever be considered “merely pretty,” because that word could not define everything she will be. The personal journey that Makkai relates to the listener really helps us to understand what is being expressed, as does the passion she uses to relay how important this subject is to her.
In my opinion, this slam poem is art because it is something that took the artist time, skill, and effort to produce. It makes the audience think hard about the subject and presents it in an accessible way, which, to me, is a characteristic of art. The theory from the Quartet of Traditions that best describes this piece is the Emotionalist theory because it explores psychological experiences and feelings. The name of this theory says it all: this piece is about expressing emotion.
The ancestors of this work of art date back to the time humans first started communicating. Oral traditions and storytelling are similar to slam poetry because in order to tell a good story it must be able to grab the listener and hold their attention. To do this it must be filled with emotion so that it is relatable to the audience. Every culture has a history of oral traditions, but one that stands out to me is African traditions. According to Central Oregon Community College, “traditionally, Africans have revered good stories and storytellers, as have most past and present peoples around the world who are rooted in oral cultures and traditions. Ancient writing traditions do exist on the African continent, but most Africans today, as in the past, are primarily oral peoples, and their art forms are oral rather than literary.” The stories of African cultures are often performed alongside songs or dances, incorporating the performance aspect of slam poetry. Another form of art that could be considered to share DNA with slam poetry is the bards and troubadours of medieval times. Though, according to the University of Idaho, the stories of the bards and troubadours were performed in the form of songs, the element of orally and emotionally recounting events is still present, especially since a song can be considered a type of poem.
I hope you enjoyed this video as much as I did! Have I opened your eyes to a new form of art and expression that you didn’t know about before?
Sources:
Makkai, Kate. “Pretty.” 2002. Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 8 September 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0.
Agatucci, Cora. "African Storytelling." Central Oregon Community College, 2008. Web. 8 Sept. 2009. http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum211/afrstory.htm.
"Bards, Music, and Arthurian Legend." University of Idaho, 13 Apr. 1997. Web. 8 Sept. 2009.
