“spoken word poetry has little pulse on the page; it doesn’t really breathe from a book. it is memorized rhythm and rhyme; it’s music whether accompanied by an instrument or not. it demands to be spoken out loud, to be delivered through a crisp sound system to large audiences. it began for me as something that itched to emerge from my throat, then started to slip from between my ribs, unfold from my sternum, roll out of my gut...i write and perform because i love to do it, because it feeds me even as it nourishes my audience, because i’d get sick if i stopped, because it’s the most potent healing tool i’ve ever encountered. every piece i perform is a healing poem, whether i speak from a place of rage, arousal, grief, celebration, or quiet reflection. to speak healing truth is a subversive act; this is why all of my poetry is political.”
-lisa b. |
