In the grand tradition of slam the personal is political, the political is intensely personal and voices are capable of great resonance.
Live at the Outpost: 2002 ABQ Poetry Slam Grand Slam represents this tradition via live recordings from some of Albuquerque's best slam poets.
Hearing slam performed live is the best way to accurately engage in this performance-based art, as it is the poets' voices and the audience's response that creates the power and energy behind the words. Similarly, a person listening to the CD in all its brilliance and flaws, can feel a personal connection to the poets.
Members of the 2002 ABQ Slam Team - Manuel Gonzalez, Carlos Contreras, Don McIver, Colleen Gorman and Kenn Rodr°guez - are included on Live at the Outpost, in addition to some other familiar names.
Kate Makkai is responsible for some of the strongest performances of the album. Makkai's "Hell Hath No Fury" which begins the CD, analyzes issues of abortion with the internal monologue of one woman. This poem succeeds because while the tone is dark, the stance of the woman is one of strength and conviction. Because of this balance, Makkai manages to create a commentary on abortion that does not come off heavy-handed or preachy.
Makkai's other poem "Pretty" explores the idea of beauty instilled in women by their mothers.
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"But this is not about me," Makkai says on this track. "This is about the self-mutilating circus we have painted ourselves clowns in."
Manuel Gonzalez's "Heart Beat Box" stands out as it makes a tool out of humor to present truth and hurt. His recurring line, "my heart keeps beating the shit out of me" is dropped in such a fashion that the audience cheers with recognition.
Gonzalez's other track "Street Poetry" stands as a personal manifesto entwining his art with his roots. Delivered with a hip-hop sensibility, the poem denounces the elitism inherent in classical definitions of art, poetry and intellect.
Michel Dalton's powerful "Message to the Klan" is delivered with rhythmic intensity. "Stand up and look me in the face/for today we share truth/a truth that is black and white" Dalton says after restating that "hate is a friend to no one/ and an enemy to us all."
The next slam in town is the MAS Poetry slam and open-mic Wednesday at R.B. Winning Coffee Co., 111 Harvard SE, at 6:30 p.m. Copies of Live at the Outpost: 2002 ABQ Poetry Slam Grand Slam are available at all slams.
For more information on slams in Albuquerque, visit ABQSlams.org.
