Check out the second part of Aimee Cliff’s interview with “iPhone poet” Dean Atta. This time they discuss everything and anything about poetry and tips for you to get your self started in spoken word.
How did you start out in spoken word?
It was just a way of expressing myself, when I couldn’t tell people how I was feeling. It was almost my diary, I’d just write down the things that troubled me or were on my mind. At that time most poetry events happened in Brixton, so I was going from Wembley to Brixton to get to these poetry nights. I instantly felt part of a community. It was a really incredible time, the scene was really exciting.
The scene is even more exciting now – it’s a lot broader, and there’s a lot more links. There’s a lot more scope to move about now, you can publish, but you can also release a CD, you can write a play or write a spoken word one-person show. There’s all sorts of ways of expressing yourself with spoken word today.
What would you say to a poet who wants to step out into the spoken word scene but maybe doesn’t have the confidence or doesn’t know where to start – especially those who live outside London?
If they’re in London, I’d say go to the Roundhouse or somewhere like that, there’s loads of great places. If they’re outside London, there are lots of forums where you can share your stuff, you can record yourself speaking on Soundcloud, or YouTube, get your friends to listen to it. Or you could get together a group of people, in your school or college, put up a poster on your common room noticeboard to see if anyone’s interested in becoming part of a poetry or spoken word collective, a writer’s group. Even if it’s just you and one or two other people, just get together and share what you’ve written, give each other feedback, and start that way. I think that’s a really lovely way to do it. Even the most well-known poets know that they can get better, and have people that they share their work with.
Put the word out there, let people know you’re doing this, and see if anyone wants to join you. Then you’ve got people to go along to nights with – and if there aren’t any nights where you are, set one up! There are lots of bars and libraries, anywhere with a little room that will be free of an evening. Just ask them, “can I do a night?” Don’t charge entry at first, just do it as a free event, get a couple people down to read, get a small audience and build something.
Don’t do it for money, there’s no money in poetry! Don’t think that you’re going to become a spoken word artist and make loads of money, because that’s so rare. But if you really love it, there’s lots of fulfilling ways you can show your work.
Do you have a favourite poem that you’ve written?
The one that means the most to me, and constantly has meant a lot to me, is one of the first poems I wrote, but it’s still so true. It’s called ‘Revolution’, and that’s one of the ones I wrote when I was 17 or 18, and yet I still perform it to this day, because it’s still really poignant.
It’s talking about how we have to be the change we want to see in the world – that’s a really popular quote, I think Ghandi said that. It’s something I try to live by, I’m not waiting for anyone else to change the world, or make it a better place for me. I know lots of people have made huge advances in equality so that I can be free to be the person that I am and express myself how I do, but there are other things I want changing, I don’t expect people to do it for me. That’s what ‘Revolution’ is about, and that’s going to stay with me throughout my life I think.
It’s one I don’t get bored of – I’ve even got a line from that poem printed on T-shirts, just to remind me. The line is “Silence is not golden,/ Silence is the truth stolen.” So, if you’ve got something to say, say it, especially if it’s something that means a lot to you! I’ve started selling these t-shirts now, because it’s something that people can connect with. And poetry doesn’t make money, but t-shirts do!
Do you have a favourite poem that you wish you’d written?
Anything and everything by Maya Angelou, because she’s so, so amazing. I wrote a poem inspired by one of hers, ‘Still I Rise’ (mine was called ‘Ascension’). That poem of hers really touches me, it’s just about strength – the strength of a woman actually, but I interpret it into my own strength.
Also, I couldn’t have written this, because it was before my time, but ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’, by Gil Scott Heron. That is such a powerful piece. It won’t be televised, but it might be on Twitter!
You think he’s just a spoken word, but it’s actually as powerful to read his work as it is to hear him. Reading Gil Scott Heron’s work in print was actually one of the things that made me think “okay, it’s about time for me to publish something.” Because not everyone’s going to hear me – I think more people could read me than could hear me.
What lies ahead for you in 2012?
Publishing! My top priority is to publish. Obviously, this video is going to come out, as well as some other videos for a couple of other poems. I’ve got a play on the 8th and 9th March, called ‘Queen Pokou’, at Stratford Circus (http://www.stratford-circus.com/events/theatre/queenpokou.htm).
I also want to follow up all the amazing leads that have come my way from this poem – the music producing, the film project…I think there might be a bit of travelling on the cards for this year! I really want to go to New York, that’s been something that I’ve been putting off for years actually. But publishing is what I want to prioritise. I’ve been writing for ten years, I’ve got enough material; I just needed the confidence to know that people would buy my book. Hopefully now I’ve got people’s attention, and they know I’ve got a lot to say. Because I have got a lot to say, as you can tell from this interview!
I’ve also got an event coming up on the 3rd March at the London Transport Museum, looking at the future of London. It’s a workshop, with about thirty places – so you have to sign up quickly – and it’s to get young people to think about what the future holds for London in terms of transport and technology, and write a presentation or poem or short story expressing their hopes or their feelings or views about the future. It’s linked to an exhibition at the London Transport Museum called ‘Sense and the City’. We’re going to work on getting ideas, work on writing and presentation skills, and then share that work with a small audience. It should be really exciting.
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