Slam to Heal. A Poetic Inquiry Reflection

Raphael d'Abdon (Università del Sudafrica)

Abstract

In termini generali, la slam poetry può essere descritta come poesia competitiva recitata/letta in spazi pubblici da poeti in erba. Nei tornei di slam poetry, i giovani concorrenti affrontano argomenti come intersezionalità, violenza di genere, storia, traumi, ecc. di fronte a folle attente e partecipative, catalizzando la loro attenzione e la loro energia in luoghi carichi di emozioni. Tuttavia, a causa della sua forma problematica e della sua insistenza sulla performance piuttosto che sulla scrittura, la slam poetry è anche uno degli argomenti più controversi all’interno dei dibattiti che si svolgono su temi quali letteratura, società e cultura popolare: da una parte, si trovano i detrattori, che la liquidano frettolosamente, sostenendo che sia una carnevalizzazione della poesia; dall’altra ci sono i praticanti e amanti dello slam, che lo considerano un’espressione artistica innovativa, in gran parte emancipata dalle convenzioni prosodiche e dalle ‘norme’ linguistiche dell’accademia. Utilizzando la poetic inquiry come metodologia di ricerca, questo articolo offre un’analisi comparativa di testi che sostengono entrambi i punti di vista e riassume la loro tesi centrale in found poems. Inoltre, attinge alle teorie della poetry therapy, al fine di arrivare a una posizione di sintesi che sia capace di offrire una visione complessa della slam poetry in Sudafrica e altrove.

DOI: 10.17456/SIMPLE-197

Parole chiave: Slam poetry, poetic inquiry, poetry therapy, narratives, arts-based methods, found poems.

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