The Thesaurus - Anastasia Thorne
Traditionally, adolescence is a time of angst and stupidity.
I remember being little and thinking that those nasty hormones wouldn’t ever get to me. I believed firmly in Never Never Land and in my ability to avoid the persistent drag of time. Naively, I thought I would remain the way I was, innocent to the realities of the world and secure in my own identity. Then, time captured me in it’s trap and I learned how to open my eyes.
Since then I have experienced angst, heartbreak, despair, and have participated in my fair share of stupid. Thankfully, at the times when I felt the most desolate about my circumstances I had something to keep me going. Books, literature, poetry, and spoken word saved me from myself. Reading rekindled my passion to write, and writing made me examine the emotions of others which I had grown accustomed to tuning out in self-pity. I remembered how to take up a cause and fight for others, and I remembered how to fight for myself.
My experiences as a teen strengthened me, emboldened me, empowered me, and liberated me. When I was a child I believed that everything had to have a happy ending and even disliked playing imaginary games with hardships invented for entertainment, but I’ve learned the value of tragedy. Now, I know how to utilize my unhappy feelings to create art.
For me, therein lies the power of slam poetry. The artist pours her raw emotions into the page and then delivers her words to the audience at high velocity because there is no other way to express what is contained within. The message conveyed is heartfelt, witty, painful, and honest, but above all else it is real. It comes from the nose-to-the ground, gritty, slicing reality of life, and hopefully tugs on the consciences of those who listen.
The Dictionary - Aaron Bannister
The Encyclopedia - Tessa Buttemer
