Poetry Slam, A Rising Art In Mauritius

Poetry has evolved in various ways because poets want to express themselves differently. Poems are works of literature that generate a rhythmic awareness of a particular theme, as we have always known. However, poetry slam has been around since the early 1980s, and it all started in Chicago, in the United States.

What is a poetry slam? It is an art where poets deliver their poems through speech to people. Poetry slam allows you to more effectively express your emotions, spread awareness, and fight for a cause, whether in a humorous manner, with an aggressive or peaceful goal, or in many other ways. Some poetry slams might be elucidated as rap. The poet gets to decide how they wish to perform. There is no limitation to a particular regulation. Poetry slam is any verbal poetry!

For over a decade, Mauritian poets have been interested in poetry slams. The popularity of this genre of art is growing among people. A plethora of contests exists to increase the popularity of this art. Poetry slam is a rising art in Mauritius! Let’s discuss it further.

QUESTION: In 2002, you founded Les Arts Éditions and introduced the art of poetry slam in Mauritius. What made you think (at that time) this genre of poetry would be successful among people here?

STEFAN HART DE KEATING: “I wasn’t expecting if the poetry slam genre would be successful or not! I just wanted to introduce this art to democratize poetry and make it accessible to everyone to express themselves freely without needing the means to organize poetry slam events! At that time, the poetry slam meetings were like a family! And it paid off! The poetry slam was successful for a few years, then mostly disappeared until I left for Madagascar and discovered the tournaments there. Thanks to the Malagasy slammaster, Momo. We staged Madagascar’s first National Poetry Slam by touring the cities for a year (including Mayotte).

Upon my return to Mauritius, with the help of the Ministry of Art and Education and other institutions, I launched the tournaments locally, in Rodrigues and Reunion. From those, poetry slam resuscitated. Unfortunately, because of the idea of ​​a tournament with a prize attracted more people than just sharing his poetry, whether it was good or not! Moreover, the term “slam competition” is used in Mauritius, which is a horrible pleonasm because the word “slam” itself means tournament. Except it’s a good-natured tournament in the original spirit of Marc Smith, who created poetry slam in the United States, and not a competition.”

QUESTION: What do you think about the future of poetry slams locally?

STEFAN HART DE KEATING: “I’ve always wanted poets to be able to make a living from their artworks in Mauritius! I managed to make a living from my collections and the poetry slam! If others are successful today, became famous, and emancipated through poetry, well, good for them! I retired from the stage a long time ago, and poetry, I live it every day, in a plant that grows, in a beautiful muse that inspires, a blazing sunset, an expression that my son invents, and I’m content with this ephemeral beauty!”

For more information regarding the poetry slam, visit Stefan’s blog at https://slamoris.wordpress.com/.

SlamUP Poésie & Slam Mauritius

SlamUP Poésie and Slam Mauritius are among the two prominent poetry slam organizers in Mauritius. They have been involved in many events, activities, where slam artists can express themselves, and share this art with the public.

Stewelderson Casimir, the founder of SlamUP Poésie has answered a few questions regarding the art in the video as follows:

QUESTION: Mauritius has known famous poets throughout history. Written poetry was once upon a time popular in our society. Now, things have changed with new forms of poetry, such as Slam. According to you, is there a growing interest in the art of poetry slam in Mauritius?

NICHOLAS FRICHOT: “If poetry was popular, poetry slam takes this popularity a step further. In 2022 only, our combined video views for slam performances broke the 1 million-views barrier, in an era where the new generation is less and less connected to reading and writing. This is marvelous. poetry slam gives the performer freedom from technical competencies: meter, rhyme, verse and stanza.

I am certain that poetry slam has a bright future and that the best is yet to come. poetry slam is accessible to anyone, at any age, does not require special competencies or knowledge, except for the courage of speaking in front of people.”

QUESTION: How do you see this art in 10 years in Mauritius?

NICHOLAS FRICHOT: “In 10 years, our vision is to implement poetry slam within the school curriculum both at primary and secondary levels, for poetry slam has great pedagogical benefits. Secondly, we plan to have, with the collaboration of the authorities, a National Academy for poetry slam. Last but not least, a main theatre for slam performances.

We strongly believe that poetry slam has a great potential as an industry, generating revenues and creating jobs. At Slam.mu, we have big dreams and hope for the poetry slam movement, for we are sure of one thing: the magic of poetry slam can indeed change lives for the better!”

So I would like slammasters to use poetry slam, which means poetry competition. So where the poet comes, with or without the paper, and delivers and performs in less than 3 minutes. I’m very happy, many other people, young people, have taken the responsibility of organizing those poetry slam events, and obviously, I’ll keep on doing the same.”

QUESTION: You’ve been a mentor to several youngsters in poetry slams. What have you learned from them?

ZIAD PEERBUX: “Yes, I’ve been a mentor, and it’s true. I’ve learned a lot from the ones that I’ve guided, and I’ve learned about compassion, I’ve learned about writing and performing poetry. I’ve learned about creating networks and connecting people. And there’s one thing that poetry has always highlighted, its honesty.”

QUESTION: In what ways does poetry slam contribute to our art and culture?

ZIAD PEERBUX: “Well, it is extremely important that at this stage that the authorities implement poetry slam in education, in community centers, because, what is poetry? Poetry is about giving freedom of speech to people in their originality and creativity. And obviously, it’s not done enough. We have a lot of budgets. The budget is voted on, but it’s not funded properly. So we have to wake up. And this is where I blame the authorities. Every school in every community center, we should have poetry slam kicking out, having a national calendar and international exposure for our slam poets.”

QUESTION: Last year, you came up with a successful poetry slam, “Mo Enn Fam” in which you depicted woman’s power. What inspired you?

KAUSHAR EDOO: “Since I started writing, I’m more prone to write about women. I feel we can never say enough about the power of a woman. I just try to do justice to womanhood through my words. If we don’t depict our feelings and emotions, there’s no way someone will understand us. My main aim in performing poetry slams is to change the mindset and behavior towards women. It is primordial for an artist to feel satisfied with his or her performance and for me, satisfaction comes from the eyes of the audience, enjoying my performance and feeling every word that I say.”

Like and follow Kaushar Edoo’s Facebook fan page.

QUESTION: Your poetry slams talk about societal issues a lot. What inspired you to choose this subject?

GERALDINE BAPTISTE: “Choosing a subject isn’t easy. There’s a lot of research. The more creative the subject, the higher the chance to impress the judges. I like writing on societal issues as, deep inside, people are disappointed with what’s happening in our society. I try to add a bit of satire and humor to capture the audience more. I also include the common verbal expressions that the young generation use. People tend to remember and think twice about an issue if we add a bit of humor to it. I want people to realize the consequences of our inaction on some issues. I encourage everyone for once in their life to try poetry slam as it’s a good therapy for the mind and the soul.”

“Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance” – Carl Sandburg

Poetry slam is beautiful. It is a good feeling factor when you express yourself freely. It boosts freedom of speech and allows you to talk about something. In Mauritius, even youngsters and elders are interested in this art, we have to admit that this poetry genre has a long way to go. The authority must give more facilities to poets and provide a sponsorship facility to boost the local talents, which will contribute enormously to the art and culture aspects.