“If communist unions ever gain a position to exercise influence in the transport lanes of the world, the free world will have suffered a staggering blow.” IfsWorldInfluencePositionExerciseGainsUnionsBlowCommunistLanesTransportStaggeringFree World Author:Robert Kennedy
“I think you can perform any poem. But what I believe is that the best examples of spoken word poetry I've ever seen, are spoken word poems that, when you see them, you're aware of the fact they need to be performed. That there's something about that poem that you would not be able to understand if you were just reading it on a piece of paper.” IfsThinkingNeedsBelieveFactsAbleReadingI BelievePiecesExamplePaperSpoken Word Author:Sarah Kay
“I write poetry to figure things out. It's what I use as a navigating tool in my life, so when there's something that I just can't understand, I have to "poem" my way through it. For that reason I write a lot about family, because my family confuses me and I'm always trying to figure them out. I write a lot about love, because love is continually confusing in all of its many glorious aspects.” WayWritingTryingReasonUseLove IsFiguresAspectToolsMy FamilyMy WayGloriousConfusingAlways TryingAbout Family Author:Sarah Kay
“Things that I have a hard time being able to fully grasp, sometimes writing the poem helps me work through it. Or I get to the end of the poem and I still haven't figured anything out, but at least I have a new poem out of it.” WritingStillsEndsSometimesHardHelpingAbleHavensHard TimesHelp Me Author:Sarah Kay
“Ever hear that expression, "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times"? That's what high school was like for me. Both of those - all the time.” SchoolWorstExpressionHigh School Author:Sarah Kay
“My falling in love with spoken word poetry definitely came out of that time period where all the adults around me were failing to supply me with any answers. Everyone was too busy dealing with things that were more important. I was pretty lost and invisible. And all of a sudden, this world opened up where I could get on stage and perform in front of my peers. People would listen to me and see me, and people would say, "That thing you created was important." And that was so validating and necessary at that specific moment.” PeopleWorldImportantMomentsFallLostAnswersFailingStageFrontsThis WorldPeriodsAdultsFalling In LoveBusyInvisiblePeersToo BusyListen To MeSpoken WordTime Periods Author:Sarah Kay
“When you are writing a spoken word poem, the tools you're working with are your voice, your body, how it's going to sound to someone when you're saying it out loud. Which is different from when you're writing it on the page. That toolbox becomes how does this look visually on the page, how does this read among pages, how is this in relation to poems that are before it or after it. I don't think one is better or more successful than the other. You've just gotta think about "what are the tools I'm using, and how are they most effective in this form?"” ThinkingWritingLooksDoeDifferentBodyFormSoundVoiceSuccessfulPagesToolsRelationYour BodyLoudSpoken WordToolbox Author:Phil Kay
“I really do think inspiration comes from day-to-day life. I think there's things that pique our interest - not necessarily aha! moments - but things that just kinda make you raise your eyebrows. And those are often the moments that are the seeds of inspiration. Sometimes they're in a great conversation with friends, sometimes they're things you see live, something you read, a movie trailer you watch... I think inspiration is kind of laid out there. One thing we have to practice is recognizing when it happens, and recording that moment so we can come back to it.” ThinkingKindSometimesMomentsInspirationHappensInterestWatchesPracticeOne ThingConversationRaisesSeedsThat MomentDay To DayRecognizingEyebrowsTrailersDay LifeDay To Day LifePiqueAha Moment Author:Phil Kay
“High school was the first time I ever saw spoken word poetry. The first place I ever performed a poem was at my school, so in some ways it was the nucleus of how it all started. For me I think high school was a period of trying to figure myself out, and poetry was one of the ways I did that, and was a very helpful avenue to try to do that.” ThinkingWayTryingFirstsSchoolSawsFiguresPeriodsHigh SchoolFirst TimeHelpfulAvenuesSpoken WordNucleus Author:Phil Kay
“The first time I ever performed spoken word poetry in front of a big crowd, it totally failed. It ended, people barely clapped...in retrospect the poem was terrible. And for a while I thought this was something I would never do again. And then I realized that, in my 17-year-old head, that was the worst it could have been. And it wasn't that bad - [because] from there, it could only get better. And I think that failure kind of freed me up to explore and not be afraid of failing again.” PeopleThinkingYearsFirstsKindHas BeensBigsFailingWorstFrontsTerribleFirst TimeCrowdsI RealizedGet BetterCould Have BeenRetrospectSpoken Word Author:Phil Kay
