Giving voice to Gen Next

That’s what Kamilah Forbes, an executive producer on the HBO series on young slam poets, Brave New Voices, believes poetry is all about. And she wants to make sure youngsters in India know it, too.

On a recent evening, actress-producer Kamilah Forbes found herself in the middle of a poetry reading in Thiruvananthapuram. Only, she didn’t understand a word of what was being said all around her. “The pieces were all in Malayalam, but I could totally understand the emotions being conveyed,” says Forbes, 32.

After all, she’s in the business of interpreting the spoken word, even if it is in a completely different language: The award-winning actress has been, among other things, executive producer on the HBO series, Brave New Voices. The seven-part series profiles the journeys of a handful of teenaged proponents of slam poetry — a highly-competitive form of poetry reading and recitation of original written works, within a limited time. Because of its fast pace, openness of content (you can talk about just about anything, in an informal, accessible, perhaps even humourous way) slam attracts a lot of youngsters; some as young as 13 or 14. Forbes is currently in India to co-host an event called Def Poetry Jam, a take on the extremely popular US competition of the same name, and wants to also scope talent in the handful of metros she plans to visit.

Apart from slam and regular poetry readings, she will also screen a new, abbreviated film version of the HBO documentary at the Def Jam events. “I’m more interested in the cultural conversation we’re going to have,” adds Kamilah.

Forbes had done a bit of slam herself. As a first-generation American (her parents moved to the US from Jamaica) growing up in Chicago and later going to college in the Washington area, Forbes was exposed to the use of creative arts as a protest, an identity-assertion or simply a voice for marginalised groups. She attended her first slam session while in college. “I was 17, and I couldn’t quite articulate what it was, but something about slam poetry touched me in a way like nothing else,” says Forbes, who then began moonlighting as a poet, “studying Shakespeare by day and hip-hop by night”. Later, she became associated with the Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam event, which is something of an institution among spoken word poets in the US. Apart from youngsters coming from across the country to participate, it has also received some celebrity endorsement: Rapper Kanye West jammed on stage a few years ago, while socialite Caroline Kennedy and actor Viggo Mortensen have also shown support.

In the last few years, however, acting and producing for TV have taken Forbes more frequently behind the scenes. But she’s putting together a brief performance for Mumbai next week where she will redux some of her old pieces and also read an open letter to US First Lady Michelle Obama. “It will speak to the impact that resonates with the Obamas coming to the White House, but more importantly, what Michelle Obama’s being there means for Black women,” says Forbes.

She is also looking to bring back interest in poetry-reading which has become something of a dead art, both in India and the US. She wants to “take it out of literature books” and put it back on stage. In fact, it was slam poetry, in the West, with performances by people in their teens, that revived interest in poetry, says Forbes. “The competition format and the limited time, makes it more challenging and vibrant,” says Forbes of slam.

“I’m told India already has some slam performances. You have a rich storytelling tradition that you can use.” Def Jam

already sees a lot of Indian-origin Americans participate, who talk about identity and immigrant life in the US. Now Forbes wants to see youngsters from India perform at Def Jam as well. “We’ve had teams from Trinidad and Tobago. Last year, we had some young poets from Guam as well,” says Forbes. “Your regional uniqueness would play to your advantage.” After all, she says, its about “giving voice to the next generation of leaders”.