Marrickville Slam Heat, NSW

The Marrickville heat was held on Sunday 24th October at Urchin Books, where a whole day was dedicated to spoken word events! The winner on the day was 27 year old med student, Alan Pham. Alan started doing spoken word and slam poetry in 2003, took a bit of a hiatus from 2005 to 2007 and then got back into it for the Australian Poetry Slam 2008.

APS: Have you performed in front of an audience before?
AP: I love dancing and karaoke, and I participated in some spoken word and slam events back in the States [Alan was born in Houston, Texas], so I have had a few chances here and there to perform in front of a crowd. I absolutely love the energy of the crowd, the feedback, the connection I feel when I get in front of that mic and look right into people's eyes as I perform my pieces.

APS: How did you feel performing your own writing?
AP: It's a terrifying experience performing your own poetry in front of an audience full of strangers. As poets, we put so much of ourselves into our writing, our hearts bleed ink onto the page and our souls breathe emotion into every word we speak. We make ourselves incredibly vulnerable for the sake of connecting with our audiences, in the hopes that our minds connect through a tapestry of words woven by experience and imagination.

APS: Do you have a favourite style of writing or a favourite writer?
AP: For me, the purpose of spoken word poetry is to convey a message, to connect with strangers at a level far beyond verbal communication. I first began writing as a means of advocacy, bringing attention to issues like racism, discrimination, and hate crimes perpetrated against Asian-Americans back home. Poetry happens when emotions overflow and become more than my brain can contain. It is an outlet for me, an avenue to divert frustrations or outrage about particular issues that I feel strongly about. Because of this, I do feel like a bit of a one trick pony at times, since the majority of my pieces are written to be powerful, moving, and filled with provactive emotions like anger, hatred, fear, desire, and love.

APS: Do you think it is important for Australians to write and perform their own work and why?
AP: Poetry is a very personal experience. Authenticity lends meaning, significance and strength to the words we put on a page. Without that intense connection between the poet and his work, what comes across to the audience is a mere shadow of the true intent and purpose of a piece. It's important for everyone to write and perform their own material, because the power of a piece lies in the shared experience between a poet and his audience.

The runner up for Marrickville was 30 year old, New Age Poet, Eddie Labbad, who has been writing for 14 years, performing for the past 2 years and has recently published his first book, 'Emotions of a New Age Poet'.
Eddie says he feels "proud, free, creative" and feels "a real sense of achievement" peforming his own writing and feels it is important for Australians to write and perform their own work. "It encourages new ideas, different ideas and encourages the artist to grow via their own style of writing." Eddie's favourite style of writing is free verse - "No rules apply and you can really say what you feel, with no boundaries or regulations"