faq
What is slam/spoken word/performance poetry?
Every poet has a different take on this so I will just share mine. First off, a slam is a poetry competition invented in the late 1980s by an Chicago construction worker named Marc Smith (SO WHAT!) who thought it would be cool if audiences could get involved in a poetry reading. Poetry readings, historically, had been sort of literary, academic style shindigs and Marc felt like even a construction worker should be able to get in on the action. 30 years later, there are hundreds of slams all over the world. The National Poetry Slam has become an amazing network of poets and organizers creating vibrant art events all over the globe. Slam= Poetry competition. Poetry Competion=Gimmick to get folks sharing poems.
Spoken Word is the most ancient form of sharing art we have. However the idea we have of it now, largely came from the beat poets of the sixties and the early hip hop visionaries. Spoken Word is often poetry-ish and it has to be spoken out loud. You could call me a Spoken Word Artist if you want, though my personal preference is Performance Poet
Performance Poetry is just the style of poetry that is more theatrical and performance based in its delivery. There are as many genres of performance poetry as there are kinds of form poetry. Check some videos out on youtube and you will see the gorgeous range.
I would like for you to come to my school and perform some poems, how do we do that?
You can contact nancy@auburnmoonagency.com or shoot me an email at hummmedia@gmail.com and we will see what kind of spectacular shenanigans we can get into.
Can I use your poem in a my drama/poetry interpretation competition?
Absofruitly. I might not have time to send you authorization and I cannot fax or send you the inside cover of my first book, The Nickle Tour, but you can purchase one from penmanshipbooks.com. My birthday is 02-18-81. I was indeed born after 1960. I would be ecstatic if you sent me video of it.
Do you write poems on commision?
Sure. I have written poems for weddings and funerals. {I am also an ordained minister if you would like a poet to marry you.} I have written poems for benefits such as Brick by Brick (benefiting the children of Democratic Republic of the Congo,) Women Behind Bars (documentary about incarcerated mothers) and Wrap Up Africa (providing cancer treatment in Africa). I can poem about almost anything. Just ask. (I can NOT champion hate crimes or oil companies or school bullies so don’t ask about that.)
Is it ZOO-ni-ga or Zoo-NEE-ga? Is that African or something?
I say ZOO-ni-ga, but in all honesty, I am not attached to how it is pronounced. It is my ex-husband’s name. His family is Honduran. They pronounce it SOO-ni-ga. It is also my children’s last name so I will not be giving it back any time soon. Say it however it feels nice in your mouth.
So, you are not Hispanic. You don’t speak Spanish. What is your natural hair color?
My father’s last name was Barry. It is Irish. My mother’s family name is Murphy. Irish. I am mostly Irish and less than a quarter Creek, Seminole and Cherokee. I was born with bright red hair and it turned blonde by the time I was 4. I have been dying it since I was 13 when I discovered henna, so I have no idea what my natural color is.
What are your children’s names? How old are they?
Kavi Moon is 8 and Briam Sky is 6. Kavi means poet in Sanskrit. She likes caterpillers, lipgloss, singing and chocolate. Briam means Noble in Gaelic. He likes breakdancing, drumming, hamburgers and drawing plants.
What is Clementine?
Clementine is a women artist’s collective that my kids and I live in. I bought a house in 2010 and asked some radical ladies to move in. We experiment with weird things like sauerkraut, open communication, kombucha, gardening, loud music, and cayenne. It is actually way quieter and less stinky than it seems.
Are you like Bi or something?
Oh, Sweet Binary, how you itch in our bones. After spending a good portion of my adult life identifying as straight/female/married, I would say I now identify as queer and I generally hang out in the Femme basket. Like most folks, it is not a fixed identity. I have sexual preferences but they don’t have as much to do with gender as they do with energy. “Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant.” I live a non-traditional lifestyle, raising kids in a collective/women centered space, in a very conservative/ fundamentalist state. So, yeah. Or something.
