SPEAK: The new poetry space in Singapore
PUBLISHED April 5th, 2013 02:28 am | UPDATED January 21st, 2016 07:23 am
To SPEAK is to convey meaning.
To SPEAK is to pass a message with both words and the spaces between words.
To SPEAK is to portray not only ideas, but also and especially, emotion, conviction and imagination.
To SPEAK is to express the freedom to hear.
To SPEAK is to express the freedom to be heard.
To SPEAK is to express freedom.
And this freedom is exactly the inspiration behind the newly formed spoken word collective presently raising voices in the local poetry scene. Aptly named, SPEAK, it’s the newest poetry event to grace the ranks of Singapore’s flowering poetry community, held monthly at a fresh location, HomeClub at Clarke Quay.
Its founder, the SPEAK collective, consists of seasoned poet and spoken word artist Deborah Emmanuel, artist and one-third of the art collective Destination:INK Vanessa Victoria, and fellow spoken word artist, independent music promoter and curator Razi Razak.
‘We’ve known each other for [long] enough time to have realized that we can work together and create something based on what each of us has to offer. When the idea was conceived, the rest was history.’
This new movement, indubitably marked in Singapore’s poetry history, was started with the intention of ‘breaking out’ of the status quo of the local poetry scene.
‘SPEAK is our attempt to break into the club scene, to seed the growth of a new movement. We felt that the local poetry scene needed a bit of edge. ”
Since the very conception of poetry communities in Singapore, the organization Word Forward has always been the supporting power behind such events as Lit Up Singapore and the monthly Poetry Slam held during the third Thursday of the month. Soon after, collectives were formed, like the all-girl power-trio spacer.gif collective which holds an open-mic spoken word event, Destination: INK, during the second Monday of the month; and the SPORE Art Salon, which features poets, musicians and visual artists at a monthly interval.
However, it is not unusual to observe that most of these spoken word events are held and monopolized by the highly revered location of the Blu Jaz cafe. The cafe itself has made a name that is almost synonymous to tradition among spoken word artists as a place of art, a haven for creativity and spontaneity, a space especially made for independent (and struggling) artists, musicians, comedians, filmmakers, thespians and many others, sometimes even those from obscure art-forms. Yep, they’ve seen an occultist on stage…and he was awesome.
SPEAK intends to start a redistribution. SPEAK intends to move some of that concentrated power of word out of the Blu Jaz cafe and into the streets. SPEAK intends to break the unconscious nest that the spoken word community has created and let it spill into the sky. SPEAK intends to take over the world with word. In other words, SPEAK speaks for freedom of the word.
As though deliberated to blow the Monday blues away, SPEAK is usually held during the last Monday of the month (with occasional other dates thrown in) – a perfect end-of-the-day repast filled with beautifully woven words and great drinks to boot.
Its opening launch, held on the 28th of January, was a big success, with more than ten speakers, both novice and experienced, taking the stage to share artistic lyricism and witty wordplays to a full-house crowd. It was a potluck of creativity and genius as each speaker spoke in their own unique style, some serious, some playful, all wonderfully delivered. With seven minutes given to each speaker, the crowd was held mesmerized until the wee hours of midnight when the show finally came to an end. It lasted longer than intended, but the people went home thirsting for more, the crowd as full in the end as it was in the beginning.
‘The main agenda of SPEAK is to support and encourage up and coming writers… We’re hoping to offer space to people who need an outlet.’ And SPEAK did just that.
Spoken word poetry is an art form that appeals both to the ears and the eyes, a recreation that both informs and entertains. It has been one of the more prevalent art forms in the local art community, gathering a large and steady following through the help of local organizations such as Word Forward. Deborah Emmanuel, one of the founders of SPEAK, is herself part of this organization, as well as the poetry collective PAP (Party Action People), a poetry group created by the poet members of Word Forward with the aim of spreading the word of the power of word through poetry.
With more younger poets and spoken word artists coming out to take the stage (some of them, just out of secondary school), there is great support and demand for spoken word. And here, SPEAK found the opportunity to grow.
SPEAK has big plans for the future. And these plans are already in motion. ‘We are looking into featuring regional and international poets in the future, because we also want to be a learning community.’ The SPEAK group explains.
Come April 10, international spoken word artists Sarah Kay and Phil Kay will be joining in the SPEAK frenzy by sharing some of their wonderful work. And this is just the beginning in the plan of a world-takeover with words. With the future of poetry and spoken word glimmering with added hope, SPEAK will definitely be one of those shining stars in the sky to look forward to each Monday night.
Arms open and voices ready, SPEAK invites one and all to grab hold of the freedom and…speak: ‘The future is bright. Come shine with us.’
The next SPEAK takes place on Wednesday 10th April at HomeClub, 20 Upper Circular Road, 058416. Doors open 7.30pm. $15 cash at the door. For more information on the programme for this edition see here. For future event updates “Like” the Word Forward Facebook page here.
Photos by Olivia Sari-Goerlach.
