Whoever defined poetry as “the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative or elevated thoughts” must have attended Thursday night’s Performance Poetry at the National Cultural Centre. Some of the best poets from Pom Dammou and Headphunk gathered for an intimate display of artistic genius. It was a night when the most intimate of emotions in the recesses of the heart were stripped and spewed for all to hear. It was a night when the thoughts of the soul were spoken; a night of deep reflection. A night when no boundaries for self-expression were allowed. It was a night of freedom.
Students from the CCSS Theatre Arts Class got the performances started with a contemplative piece, “Spoken Word”. It would set the tone for a beautiful display of literary talent from 26 year old Sadie Descartes who has been writing for seven (7) years and performed a soulful piece, “Lord, can you hear me now!” A youthful and vibrant Brendan “Young B” Joseph shared some “Words, Wisdom and Finer Things” with the expectant audience. Liz Faisal, Garner Raymond and Hanson Narcisse, all Headphunk members would intrigue the audience with their expressive performances: Faisal an energetic performance of “What I am to Poetry”, Raymond’s “Streets and poka” and “Blame Her For Me” followed by a dynamic and gripping political commentary, “Case # 1”. The first half of the show would come to a close with a thought-provoking piece from 19 year old literature student Roshelle Calderon.
Headphunk would get the second half of the night’s performances going with a stirring performance from Xylaw. eARTh would follow with “Elements”. The group describes itself as “a poetic collaboration of the art forms of Spoken Word, Dance, Vocal Burlesque and Body Paint Art and are driven by the belief that ART is the center of the Earth.” In their performance body paint artist, Gilroy Hippolyte who represented ‘wind’, created a masterpiece before the waiting audience who became the individual ‘elements’ of life – ‘Rock’, portrayed by Spoken Word Artist, Anthony ‘Tree-C’ Avril, ‘Fire’, portrayed by Dancer, Nicole ‘Wednesday’ Samuel and ‘Water’, portrayed by Vocal Burlesque Performer, Gena-Lee ‘GeMo’ Eudoxie. Black Crayon would then do a memorable piece “Simply Babylon”, followed by an exhilarating performance of “The Weapons four” by Adrian “Drii Note” Klein. Headphunkers Felicia Montoute (“Happier Days”) and Vladimir Lucien (”Donbwe” and “Ital”) both stirred the audience with their entertaining and relatable pieces. In a style that has come to be synonymous with Ras Isley, he energized the audience with two pieces, “We Music” and “Jah’s Jazz”. The night of Poetry would then come to a gratifying end when the guest performer Glenn Charlery would perform five (5) passionate pieces: “Welcome to Paradise”, “What might’ve been”, “Everybody know”, “The Artist” and “When”. His first opportunity to showcase his talent was provided by Mr Adrian Augier at his “Factory Productions” at Bisee. In the late nineties he would become a popular figure within the Rastafarian community where he tried to use his talents to articulate the plights of and to give hope to members of this marginalized group while also trying to uplift and show direction to his peer Rasta Brethren. He strongly believes “that the duty of the artist to hold a mirror up to the face of the wider society and that reflection isn’t always pretty, but then it isn’t the role of the artist to flatter by reproducing an image of the society as it would like to see itself. The role of the artist is to be truthful and I try to be and do just that from the perspective of the marginalized, impoverished and under-represented demographic that circumstances has consigned me to.”
- Guest Perofrmer Glenn Charlery – Performance Poetry Night
Performance Poetry was part of Festival Week, which continues at the National Cultural Centre on Saturday 12th April, 2014 with Junior and Senior Dance. Festival Week will conclude with Composition and Song Night, when three Saint Lucian Music greats Gregory Piper, Derek Yarde and Joyce Auguste will be featured and honoured.