New Found Appreciation: Spoken Poetry
I consider myself an artistic person, though I'd also like to think that I am practical - not that these things necessarily contradict each other. Carl Jung identified himself a scientist while he was wildly fascinated by taboos and subscribed to certain superstitions. But of course, a true scientist would know that there are a vast amount of things in the world that is, perhaps yet, beyond explanation, and the more we know, the less we really seem to know. So as I systematically fought my way through the black and white and all or nothing thoughts, and gracefully enter the world of the gray, suddenly, the possibilities are endless. Everything can be quite neutral, or at least not mutually exclusive. As Shakespeare said: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
But before I was more comfortable with the gray, I had to reconcile these tensions in my head: am I artistic or pragmatic? Am I conceptual or analytical? I find myself standing in the middle of a high school cafeteria with no one to sit with. And then college happened, and I declared my major: Industrial Design. Here's a disclaimer: I did not become a designer, at least not professionally. I did not graduate with a degree in I.D. Instead, I graduated with a degree in Philosophy, and now trying to further my education in Sociology. These choices are unknowingly but carefully curated. You see, the principle of I.D. is "form follows function." I had less interest in merely pretty things, but pretty things I can use? That's a different story.
Yes. Story. I have an eye for beauty, but beauty is not enough if it didn't at least tell a story. Good example: Top 10 Most Beautiful Movies of All Time. The reason I even clicked to watch this video was because the cover was a screenshot from the movie "Hero," which I love, love, love! I've always said it was one of the most stunning films I've ever watched, and the story was fantastic. It retold the story of a tyranny in the history of China, and offered a different perspective, which I thought was pretty interesting. Of the remaining list, I've seen some of the others, but if you asked me, honestly, I either couldn't recall what the movie was about entirely, or I thought it was boring or downright shitty. So pretty just doesn't do it.
Studying Philosophy then Sociology follows the same logic. I am endlessly curious about life, about its purpose, its subjects, what motivates and drives us from the root level. I am curious about human behavior, and what our behavior, collectively, says about the world we live in; what do we need now, and how do we cultivate it. Philosophy satisfies the abstract, even aesthetic side of me; and now I'm hoping Sociology can help me see these ideas in action, and spread the beauty.
So four paragraphs in, and I haven't mentioned a thing about the title Spoken Poetry (freehand writing in a hurry!). Well, here we go. Just because I am artistic doesn't mean I appreciate every artform there is out there. For example, I think ballet is so pretty, and its beauty is so difficult to achieve, but I just don't understand it enough to really appreciate it, to enjoy it. Same as Impressionist paintings. I have no doubt these artwork weren't easy to produce, I just can't relate. So accessibility plays a major role. That is why when it comes to furniture I prefer Ikea over DWR. Don't get me wrong, the Eames chair is amazing, but it does me no good if I'd never buy one. Traditional poetry falls in that same bucket of "it's pretty but unapproachable." I appreciate literature - I mean I enjoy reading, and it would at least appear - if you've read this far - that I enjoy writing - that is, the communication of ideas. I want to like poetry, but I just never did. That is, until now. Thanks to Sarah Kay:
The reason is simple: "I really felt that."
Spoken Poetry is new to me. I've first come across it maybe a year or so ago on YouTube channels TED and Soul Pancake (Natalie Patterson's "I Dare You" towards the end). I didn't even know I was listening to poems spoken out loud until halfway through them, but by the end I was so deeply moved I was almost weeping. So yes, to say the very least: I really felt that. It wasn't necessarily because I could really relate to the subjects, but I found the messages - perhaps the way they were delivered - to be so profound, so human, or so profoundly human, yet it's right there for me to grab hold of. Words and their meanings one would otherwise find in a ten-page essay or a book or volumes of them, communicated with such force, even when it was gently spoken,
This is great - the perfect shade of gray. This is what beauty is meant for - to be experienced, and then spread.
But before I was more comfortable with the gray, I had to reconcile these tensions in my head: am I artistic or pragmatic? Am I conceptual or analytical? I find myself standing in the middle of a high school cafeteria with no one to sit with. And then college happened, and I declared my major: Industrial Design. Here's a disclaimer: I did not become a designer, at least not professionally. I did not graduate with a degree in I.D. Instead, I graduated with a degree in Philosophy, and now trying to further my education in Sociology. These choices are unknowingly but carefully curated. You see, the principle of I.D. is "form follows function." I had less interest in merely pretty things, but pretty things I can use? That's a different story.
Yes. Story. I have an eye for beauty, but beauty is not enough if it didn't at least tell a story. Good example: Top 10 Most Beautiful Movies of All Time. The reason I even clicked to watch this video was because the cover was a screenshot from the movie "Hero," which I love, love, love! I've always said it was one of the most stunning films I've ever watched, and the story was fantastic. It retold the story of a tyranny in the history of China, and offered a different perspective, which I thought was pretty interesting. Of the remaining list, I've seen some of the others, but if you asked me, honestly, I either couldn't recall what the movie was about entirely, or I thought it was boring or downright shitty. So pretty just doesn't do it.
Studying Philosophy then Sociology follows the same logic. I am endlessly curious about life, about its purpose, its subjects, what motivates and drives us from the root level. I am curious about human behavior, and what our behavior, collectively, says about the world we live in; what do we need now, and how do we cultivate it. Philosophy satisfies the abstract, even aesthetic side of me; and now I'm hoping Sociology can help me see these ideas in action, and spread the beauty.
So four paragraphs in, and I haven't mentioned a thing about the title Spoken Poetry (freehand writing in a hurry!). Well, here we go. Just because I am artistic doesn't mean I appreciate every artform there is out there. For example, I think ballet is so pretty, and its beauty is so difficult to achieve, but I just don't understand it enough to really appreciate it, to enjoy it. Same as Impressionist paintings. I have no doubt these artwork weren't easy to produce, I just can't relate. So accessibility plays a major role. That is why when it comes to furniture I prefer Ikea over DWR. Don't get me wrong, the Eames chair is amazing, but it does me no good if I'd never buy one. Traditional poetry falls in that same bucket of "it's pretty but unapproachable." I appreciate literature - I mean I enjoy reading, and it would at least appear - if you've read this far - that I enjoy writing - that is, the communication of ideas. I want to like poetry, but I just never did. That is, until now. Thanks to Sarah Kay:
The reason is simple: "I really felt that."
Spoken Poetry is new to me. I've first come across it maybe a year or so ago on YouTube channels TED and Soul Pancake (Natalie Patterson's "I Dare You" towards the end). I didn't even know I was listening to poems spoken out loud until halfway through them, but by the end I was so deeply moved I was almost weeping. So yes, to say the very least: I really felt that. It wasn't necessarily because I could really relate to the subjects, but I found the messages - perhaps the way they were delivered - to be so profound, so human, or so profoundly human, yet it's right there for me to grab hold of. Words and their meanings one would otherwise find in a ten-page essay or a book or volumes of them, communicated with such force, even when it was gently spoken,
This is great - the perfect shade of gray. This is what beauty is meant for - to be experienced, and then spread.
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