by Marci Talley

When some people think of poetry, they automatically think of cheesy verses about love. I must admit, that was my first thought when my son, Marc, ex-rapper turned poet, decided to join a poetry club. The 1997 romance movie “Love Jones” came to mind, and I could hardly imagine him being on stage reciting poetry to the beat of a conga drum with people in the audience snapping their fingers. It seemed to me that he was going from one extreme to another. “How are you going to be a rapper one day and a poet the next? You don’t know what you want to do,” I told him. Aren’t the two totally opposite? Poetry is for people who are in love or looking for love. Or so I thought. As it turns out, rap and poetry are almost one and the same.

Prepare to be BORED!

After two months of listening to my son’s excitement about this crew he just met and how they, Versified Expressions, wanted him to join their group, I realized I wasn’t showing him much support. To be honest, the thought of spending my Tuesday night off listening to some boring poetry was the furthest thing from my mind. I finally decided to attend one of these poetry shows, and to my surprise, I loved it. Is this really what they called poetry? This was pure talent. There was no other word to describe what I had just witnessed. The group consisted of two men and two women and they were four of the most talented people I had ever met. They each took what could have easily been a rap song or just an ordinary song, and turned it into what they called “spoken word.” There was no music. There were no drums and no one was snapping their fingers. All of that was completely unnecessary. All they needed was silence and respect from the crowd. These people each had something to say, and they had their own unique way of saying it. All ears and eyes were on them.

Presentation

When Courtney, aka Eb Red, first opened her mouth and started to sing, I believe everyone was totally mesmerized. Her voice was amazing. But.. I thought this was supposed to be poetry. Suddenly, Eb Red was loudly and angrily vocalizing her hatred for some unnamed man. It was undoubtedly coming from the depths of her soul. She had me sympathizing with whoever this poem was aimed at. Then Anthony “Amptified” Evens, founder and CEO of Versified Expressions (VE), along with my son Marc, whose stage name is Scizas, took the stage. They had a female audience member sit in a chair in the middle of the stage and they each took turns “rapping” to her in their own style. Amptified first began with a love poem with a bunch of corny pick-up lines. He explained that this is how an older, more experienced man should approach a woman. Next, Scizas took the microphone and in a rude, disrespectful, yet humorous manner, began to rap to the young woman in a way that a lot of guys around the age of 19-20 tend to speak to women. Since each artist wrote their own poem and had it memorized to where not one mistake was made, I was in awe. I never knew that poetry could be so entertaining.

Style

No two poets are the same. There is no dress code. There is no required style of performance. There are no rules, nor does the location matter. VE has performed at nightclubs, high schools, talent shows, weddings, and there is no telling what venue I may have left out. Depending on the day, you may see Amp in a suit and tie, or he may be performing in his work uniform, preparing to leave the club to go straight to work for his 11PM-7AM shift at a factory. Scizas almost always has on a baseball cap, blue jeans, and a pair of tennis shoes that match his hat. Eb Red may have on a tight, short dress and high heels, or she may have on a pair of blue jeans and some super high heels. Monique, aka Mo, VE’s gay female poet, may come out in a baseball cap, button down shirt and blue jeans, dressed to perform one of her Tupac-like rap-style poems. Five minutes later, she might leave the stage and return as Monique, in a tight, skimpy mini-skirt and high heels, performing a poem she calls “Not Your Typical Everyday Female.” Regardless of the poets’ appearances, the one thing you can count on every Tuesday night at Paolo’s is seeing one or two pepperoni pizzas and several glasses of Long Island iced tea at just about every table and the sound of the crowd yelling “Aaaoooouu!” after every VE crew member leaves the stage.

Atmosphere

The DJ booth is set up at the back of the stage behind the microphone, and there is hip-hop and R&B music playing inside and from the speakers outside on the fenced-in patio, which sits on West Exchange Street. Just past the patio is a steep driveway that takes you to a small, well-hidden parking lot, where the Akron Aeros Stadium employees park to take the back entrance into the stadium. When there is a baseball game, the cheers of the crowd and sometimes the explosions of the fireworks mix in with the sounds of the music and give out a 4th of July-like atmosphere. These also happen to be the summer days when Paolo’s has to close the doors so that the voice of whatever poet is on stage can be heard. The ceiling fans don’t do much to cool it off. The heat can be unbearable inside, but this gives a lot of women just the excuse they need to come out dressed in as little as possible. Although one of the club regulars is a comedian and he enjoys getting on stage, poking fun of pretty much everyone in the crowd; the scantily dressed don’t seem to mind. All attention is turned to them for a few seconds or so, and since attention is what appears to be the main reason for their lack of clothing, everything is good. Everyone gets along. There is no yelling or arguing. When someone is on stage, respect is given. You don’t hear any cell phones ringing or any talking. Total silence is given to the performer.

Every week the crowd seems to get bigger. What was once a small crowd of about 15-20 young African-Americans has turned to people of all ages and ethnicities. People leaving a baseball game next door might notice the crowd and decide to stop in to see what’s going on. They may just be stopping in for a beer. But they seem to be coming back, week after week. Not only do they come to watch and listen, some even seize the opportunity to show what they can do. The microphone is open to everyone. Whether you sing, play guitar, are a comedian, rap, or perform poetry, you are welcome to Paolo’s on Tuesdays for open-mic night.

Spoken Word vs Slam

After attending several shows I was able to determine that there were different types of poets. As explained to me by Scizas, a spoken word artist is different from a slam poet. While a slam poet will attend and sometimes perform at a VE event, many spoken word artists have no interest in what a slam poet has to say. Slam poets tend to talk about everyday issues, like what is going on in the news. They speak about what they believe will meet the approval of the audience. A spoken word artist is real, as opposed to the fakeness Scizas says you can see in a slam poet. Spoken word artists have a point to get across. It is something that is personal and is real to them, and they have a way of speaking that will make the audience relate to their subject matter. Spoken word is a form of poetry, and it tells a story. It can be told in a serious tone or it can be humorous. Regardless, it is very entertaining.

Wordplay

One particular artist, who performs on occasion on open mic nights, begins his most popular poem with the line “I am not a poet.” He goes on to explain why he is neither a poet nor a rapper. Instead, he just likes to use his words to entertain. When I asked Scizas if he was a rapper or a poet, and what the difference is, in his opinion, he said that he is an entertainer. He told me to keep in mind that “RAP” stands for Rhythm And Poetry. Poetry is simply rap without the rhythm and since there’s no rhythm, the word “and” isn’t necessary. Each member of VE is a rapper in their own way. They have an intelligent and creative way of taking similes and metaphors, making them rhyme, and telling a story. There are many times when an artist may recite a line, and if you aren’t paying attention, you can totally miss it. It can go right over your head and leave you sitting there wondering, “What did I just miss?” In other cases, the artist may say something so deep, that causes so much thought, an audience member might want to hear it again and call out “Rewind!” The artist will then have to go back to the beginning of the verse and recite it all over again. This is somewhat challenging when you are reciting something from memory. I know because it happened to me.

The Night I Lost My Virginity

VE’s performance at Paolo’s is called “Freedom of Speech: Open Mic Night.” Every new performer has to go through a sort of initiation. The host has to introduce the newest artist and with some help from the crowd, there is a chant. The host yells, “We got a virgin on the mic.” The crowd then has to holler, “Go ‘head.” This is repeated three more times and then the artist steps up to the microphone. After some persuasion, Scizas talked me into writing a poem of my own and performing it in front of a crowd. I know that he speaks his mind and would not let me get up there and embarrass myself, so I believed him when he said he thought I had the talent. I knew my poem was good, but I wasn’t sure how to present myself on the stage. Everyone has their own style. I had NO style. I tried to memorize it the best I could, but I took a written copy with me to be safe. It was a good thing I did. As soon as I heard the last “Go ‘head!” I totally forgot everything. I read my poem, but I’m a pretty good reader so it didn’t sound like I was reading. Then all of a sudden I heard someone say “Rewind!” and I was totally lost. What did they want me to repeat? Where do I start? Hell, what did I just say? Needless to say, I have a whole new respect for the artists, whether they are spoken word artists, slam poets, or just hosting the show and introducing the next performer. It takes a lot of talent to write and perform poetry. I did go back and perform that same poem, along with another one that I wrote. I had practiced it several times and also had a few drinks to calm my nerves. My presentation was much different from the first. The reception from the crowd, the “rewind,” the high-fives and the applause this last time proved to me that I’m ready. I won’t mind being called a poet. Poets are not boring and poetry is rather entertaining.