by John Bear
Daily Lobo
Even if you lack a strong disposition toward all things poetic, the 2005 Albuquerque Slam Team probably has something for you.
The team is five strong, and each member brings a different voice to the whole. Their styles run the gamut of possibilities, ranging in tone, content and delivery.
"We all bring our different talents," said Esme Vaandrager, sole female on the team and also the youngest member.
She said she incorporates dance-like movements into her performances, and her teammates sometimes tease her about all the jumping around.
"They get on me because I start moving around and the movement doesn't have anything to do with the poem."
At 17, she is the youngest person ever to be on the Albuquerque Slam Team. She cannot compete because she is under 18.
Aaron Cuffee said he has been involved with slam poetry since the age of 12. He writes poems that deal with basic emotions.
"I try to make sure the audience gets the maximum emotional content," he said. "Connection with the audience is the most important part for me."
UNM student Carlos Contreras said he has a rhythmic delivery style not unlike hip-hop that gives his poetry a musical quality.
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"It's more pleasing to the ear than necessarily understood by the mind," he said.
Hakim Bellamy, also a UNM student, said his style has developed along similar lines and is largely influenced by hip-hop.
"I'm from South Jersey, so everyone thought they were going to be a rapper," he said. "My rhymes weren't that good, so I became a poet by default."
He said he would be classified as a political poet, because most of his poems cover subjects such as racial harmony, racial injustice and current events.
"Pretty much anything I see in the news, I want to say something about," Bellamy said.
Ken Rodriguez, player and coach, said slam poetry has risen from relative obscurity to a place within the national consciousness as a part of the pop culture.
He said slam started out as a response to academia but is slowly merging with it as poets enter universities.
"I would even go so far to say it's made an impact on actual poetry," he said. "There are a lot of current and former poetry slammers who are in masters programs, who are in Ph.D. programs."
He said slam poetry enjoys widespread popularity because it is an accessible art form.
"Anybody can write," he said. "That's the beautiful thing about poetry."
He said poetry is the literary equivalent of soccer. Soccer only requires a ball, and poetry only requires a pen and paper.
Contreras said slam poetry is as popular as it is because it has attracted people who don't fall under the garden-variety definition of poet.
"People who aren't necessarily MCs, page poets or coffee-shop poets all have a place," he said.
He recognizes the slam movement's increasing popularity but hopes it doesn't become as commercial as hip-hop.
"They sell hip-hop," he said. "McDonald's has hip-hop. I hope it doesn't become bastardized like that."
Bellamy isn't as concerned with slam becoming more mainstream as long as people stay true to the art form.
"Every now and then, good music goes platinum," he said. "That just means a good message got heard. It happens."
Team members said the National Poetry Slam will have something to suit all tastes.
"It's going to be amazing," Vaandrager said. "There's going to be sparks flying all over the city from all the crazy poet power."
