Beyond Empathy’s Just One Less Project continues with:
Just SPEAK UP
In extending the work developed in the Just One Less project in Armidale, Beyond Empathy will continue to work with the community to unpack the issue of alcohol. The project will continue to engage young people and drill down into the issues around youth binge drinking.
Over the next three months, BE will give the community the opportunity to express themselves through the art form of ‘spoken word’ or ‘poetry slam’. This artistic medium will challenge participants to share their experiences (around alcohol and risk taking behaviour) through stage performance that incorporates poetry, hip-hop, rap, drama, improvisation and most importantly self-expression. Spoken word is an outlet for personal experience, a present day soapbox, a place for frank and personal commentary and the exchange of ideas. Performing ‘spoken word’ on stage builds confidence in the performers and develops skills such as ‘thinking on your feet’.
Three outstanding performers are coming to Armidale to share their talents during a week of workshops with local schools, culminating in the Just Speak Up Poetry SLAM in Armidale’s Beardy St Mall at 4 pm on Thursday, 15th December. All local poets and performers - and those who just want to give it a go - are invited to be part of the SLAM and perform alongside Tom Thum, Omar Musa and Emilie Zoey Baker.
Tom Thum is a virtuoso of sound. Hailing from Brisbane, he is a B-boy, MC and beatboxer extraordinaire. He has performed to acclaim in Scotland, New York, London, New Zealand, Holland, Berlin, Hamburg, Taipei and Bangkok. Praise for his performances includes:
The mic master seems to have an orchestra living in his throat: trumpet blasts, guitar strums and samples from classic songs including Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” effortlessly spout from his mouth.
Time Out, NY
Omar Musa is a rapper and poet from Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia. He is of Malaysian-Australian heritage. He has lived in London and California and spends most of his time on the road, performing and writing. He has won numerous awards for poetry and music, including the Australian Poetry Slam in 2008 and the British Council's Realise Your Dream award in 2007. Praise for Omar includes:
Omar Musa, whose words are up there with W.H. Auden's post WW1 pieces in their harshness of blood tenderness.
The Jakarta Post
Emilie Zoey Baker is a published award-winning poet and slam champion, she has performed poetry all around the world and is a state coordinator for the Australian Poetry Slam and winner of the Berlin International Slam as part of the 2010 Berlin International Literature Festival. Emilie is the National Education Officer at the Australian Poetry and coordinator of the first ever teen team slam, OutLOud. Her vitality and unorthodox approach to poetry is summed up by Michael Short:
Emilie Zoey Baker has a slightly subversive idea to help move poetry from the cultural shadows.
The Age
For more information about this project, please contact Narelle Jarry on 02 6772 0101 or at narelle.jarry@beyondempathy.org.au
