by Samantha Weinraub
“There is an increasingly serious problem in America: people just don’t know how to dance,” host Aleysha Wise jokingly condemns the audience, as she encourages everyone to stand up and get their bodies loose. Dancing is the best way to wake up the energy in the room, and once it’s up, it never comes back down. Throughout the entire slam, the audience is buzzingly alert, attentive, and responsive to the powerful performers of spoken word. Judges planted among audience members directly respond to the poets, by grading them with a score on a whiteboard, “like it’s the Olympics,” says host Jacob Winterstein.
Let’s rewind for readers who have never heard of the Philly Pigeon Poetry Slam. An event hosted each First Friday of the month by poets Aleysha Wise and Jacob Winterstein; the slam takes place at Philamoca, from 8:30 to 11ish, with an intimate poetry workshop at 7:30 pm, led by the featured poet of the night. It all started when Wise approached Winterstein with a simple, “Yo. Philly needs a fresh slam scene.” And the rest is his (and her) story.
Having resided at the Philamoca for two seasons, it feels like home for the participants. The comfort and ease that’s conveyed on stage throughout the night really does feel like home. There is a safety that’s expressed, and spaced within the laughter and jokes. There is an authentic trust, too. The duo, both having been in the poetry biz for at least ten years, are veterans. They describe how poetry competitions can be, “sports with words,” with all of the training and strategizing that comes into play. Ultimately, it’s always essential to keep poetry the most important thing.
When asked for advice to young writers, Winterstein states that they should come to the Pigeon. And while that statement was a joke, writers definitely should go to the Pigeon for hilarious and moving moments. Wise and Winterstein do believe that it is important for artists to study their craft, find their own voice, and continue to write and create. Another tip for new poets is that while poetry can come from a place of deep emotion, it not does not have to be true. It should, however, be honest. And truth and honesty are not always the same.
Carlos Andres Gomez (photo credit, Samantha Weinraub)
For those who attended the slam on Friday December 6th, Carlos Andres Gomez, the featured poet of the night, graced the crowd with his shining, powerful and completely honest presence. From attending the poetry workshop with Carlos, and listening to his words, viewers can feel that the man radiates sincerity. With some of his poems deriving from a place of destruction, he really constructs something that is positive and powerful. The beauty of Carlos, and all of the artists who performed at the slam, is that they are trying to change the world with their words. Here, people can express their truest voices. From topics of justice, inequality, or transcending the confines of society, be it race, religion, or sexuality, this space is filled with a genuine intent to shape the world into a place that is accepting and nonjudgmental. For a few hours on a Friday night, the Philly Pigeon Poetry slam is that place.
