Spoken word poetry breathes life into the city

The concept of spoken word poetry is not a new one in India, which has a history of mushairas and court poets. However, in its modern form, the art of the spoken word is still in a budding stage. While Mumbai has seen more and more spoken word poets take to the mic over the last couple of years, there is still much to learn, according to performance poet Rochelle D’Silva. The poet came up with a platform for performance poetry called Words Tell Stories in 2015, through which she has been propagating this art by organising open-mic nights and slam poetry events. She is now all set to host a two-day poetry workshop, which will be conducted by two world-renowned poets —Kyle Louw and Ikenna Onyegbula.

“Spoken word is much more conversational than regular poetry,” Rochelle explains. “The problem with many of us in India is that we make the poems too wordy or formal. It also has a lot to do with the actual performance.” The workshop, according to her, will cover this ground and ensure that the participants gain the necessary confidence it takes to get up in front of a crowd and perform. Rochelle is especially excited about the guest poets who will be conducting the workshop. “Kyle is a TEDx speaker and Ikenna has toured the whole world with his poetry. These are people for whom spoken word poetry is a profession and I think that it’s important for people in Mumbai to realise that they can also do the same,” she says.

Spoken Word Masterclass: The Intangibles is taking place on August 20 and 21 from 12 pm to 4 pm, at Chaayos, Opposite One World Tower, Lower Parel.