#NerdsUnite: How Bout Some Uncomfortable Laughter??
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 at 2:37PM#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @SaintPepsi
As some of you out there may or may not know, I participate in poetry slams at a local dive bar Auntie Mae's. A nationally recognized slam poetry competitor, Michael Mlekodaj, who also hosts the “poetry nights” at Maes. He is connected with and has invited several great poets and writers to Manhattan, KS. Naturally, I was pleased to find a traveling group of slam poets called “Uncomfortable Laughter”, stepping up on stage to present us with their memorized and well delivered words of wisdom.
Allow me to begin with Kait Rokowski. Although she appears mousy and cute, her words bit hard at current social doctrine. The poem, “Bridalplasty”, delivered deep cutting and well aimed piercing points, slicing through the typical obsession that idealized perfection has brought us to. Girls with self-image problems take everything society gives them at birth and churn out another plastic doll, unrecognizable to the men that found them beautiful before they cut away their family’s given gifts. She was a delight to listen to and I was sad when she wasn't able to come back for her last two poems due to her apple allergy --some moron in the bar brought an apple. Really, dude! He could have bought a Woodchuck Apple Cider and called it good. I bought her book because she didn't have a CD available for purchase.
Next up, the powerful Wil “One L” Gibson. This is a man who has lived a few lives. He has loved, lost, and loved again. He has more stories to tell than most can make up. Living on the streets for a few years gave him a very interesting perspective on life. His experiences taught him how things can truly get you down and what things we take for granted. Rising above that life, he has become a powerful slam poet with verses so potent you'll think you just took a shot of 151. One of the poems he did was called “When You Get Older”. The poem describes the loss of his mom and the attempts his father made to compensate with a bottle in hand. The poem pulls at your heart-strings and shows what a community is willing to do to help. Saying he's hard is only something he has earned with his life. Saying he's soft is only essential for the heart that beats behind his powerful stoic demeanor.
Beau Williams is a wordsmith if ever I saw one. He spins together words like hand sewn garments of an entire wardrobe. His words create images so vividly that Tolkien would have stopped to analyze the way he described things. I have never heard love described so passionately and with such surprising and yet truthful illustrations. I felt like I was hit on the head and instead of colors spinning before my eyes were the images of perfect parallels he had drawn so masterfully. I recommend any of his poems. They cut through the mundane like a scalpel through skin. Favorite line, “When she speaks, my legs become semicolons. I forget how to use them.” That line stayed with me a week after hearing him speak it. In this world of 30 second commercials and viral video clips, for one line to stay with you says a lot about the person who wrote it.
Lastly, Ryan McLellan became my favorite poet that night because I related to him the most. His English teaching background and punk rock roots cut clear paths for his surprisingly whimsical and yet poignant dialog. He tells tales like a troubadour and sweeps your assumptions about poetry out the door. He recited a poem that presents the idea that “till death do us part” isn't always the end. Finding himself in a relationship with a dead girl. My favorite line from his poem, “I drag your love around town in a coffin.” Later, he smiled at me for recognizing that his tattoo of a three eyed fish was from the “Simpsons” and not “Futurama” as most of today's youth would have guessed. His stories dance across my mind and I smile to hear them told live or on CD. I am inspired to write because of single lines in his verse and needless to say, the poem in it's entirety. He is clever (oh so very clever) and he strikes a cord with anyone that went to punk shows, loved till they lost, and who demanded but were always denied a voice in the state funded schools.
All together this group of rag tag, road weary warriors for spoken word were amazing to behold. Generally, I enjoy listening to any readings. These performers, however, were so well rehearsed that they were an inspiration. So thanks to you, “Uncomfortable Laughter”, and your free verse ways of making me wish to be a better open-mic poet. Maybe I'll see you on stage again in a slam poetry setting, dueling words like six shooters and we can go grab a beer and a smoke after wards. I'd like that. As for you, Internet, stalk these four poets. They will surely impress you!
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