Champions League of Word Artists – Culture News: Books

The literary scene weighed him. And of course, too easy: critics say that slam poets are like comedians who clown on stage. It was at a time when no one really knew what poetry slam was, not even the poets of slam.

There was already one on stage and was reading what was on the back of the token bag. The beginning of the movement was, for example, quite experimental. But eventually, slam poetry came from the American underground, invented by Marc Kelly Smith in 1986 in Chicago.

The times have changed. Martin Otzenberger and Lukas Hofstetter organize the 2018 Slam in the lobby of the Zurich Schauspielhaus with Phibi Reichling and Tina Messer. The 22nd German-speaking poetry-slam championships will start tomorrow, Tuesday, while "Hamlet" and Goethe's "elective affinities" are at home: at the peabad. The Slamist poets, who have shaped the Swiss scene in recent years, are on stage for the opening show: Renato Kaiser, Simon Libsig, and Simon Chen. Otzenberger and Hofstetter will remain in the background ("We do not need the spotlight"). And look forward to what they put into practice during the three years of preparation. The 2018 slam looks like the Champions League.

Movement from below

Schauspielhaus, Volkshaus, Plaza, X-Tra, Kosmos, Anvil Ramp and Kasheme: these are the venues of Zurich where the Poetry Slam Festival takes place. What started once in the cellars and on small scenes came to the center. 200 language artists from Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, South Tyrol and Switzerland compete against each other, alone or in groups. And it gets a little bigger. On Saturday, the twelve best poets will perform in the singles final at Hallenstadion, 4,500 listeners are expected. The evening will feature Patti Basler, one of the most successful cabaret artists of recent years.

Patti Basler took her first steps in 2008 in the shipbuilding industry in Zurich and said: She could do better. The teacher has become a poet. Martin Otzenberger and Lukas Hofstetter, organizers of the scene since 2000, like to tell such stories about the beginnings. As Pedro Lenz, who at that time no one knew, called to say that he was still on the way, but that he was coming to play in the basement 62. How Hazel Brugger won his first slam in St. Gallen and won the prize of the winner – to minors Do not hand over a bottle of whiskey. Slam poetry has changed the Swiss cultural scene, many authors and cabaret women have taken their first steps in their careers here. Patti Basler has just received the Salzburg Bull. Also at Slam 2018, she starts again, but she has to qualify like everyone else in the starting round. For the laureates, there is no reduced rate.

This makes the competitions in Slam-Poetry so democratic too. The rules are as follows: A conversation can not last more than six minutes. No poems! No Goethe, no Gölä. No comedy! No accessories! Only a little sing. Because it's about the pure effect of the text. A slam poet must be able to play, says Otzenberger. In short: the spark should go from the stage to the public. Which, of course, is not the case of a water-based reading – Slam-Poetry-Sprech for a conventional author reading.

No poems! No Goethe, no Gölä. No comedy! No accessories!

The scene can also turn against its critics. She also decided to fight literary popes. Because the last word always concerns the public, namely the seven people selected from the jury's audience. That's how it will be in the Hallenstadion.

Ratings increase proportionately to the public's alcohol consumption, which gets there early already lost in many cases. According to Hofstetter, fierce competition is unfair, as unfair as life or democracy. Everything is designed to make an impact and often contains elements of entertainment. However, it is not enough to be funny, and the political lyrics are well received by the public. «Here's the slam poetry of writing literature Forward, "says Otzenberger," we are more incisive, we can react much more quickly to current events. " Of course, there are also phenomena like that of Julia Engelmann, who meticulously mounted Miss's texts in the scene. Twelve million times one of their performances has been clicked on Youtube, the German slam poet now fills entire rooms alone.

The big family

In general, the scene has grown so blatantly, says Otzenberger. There are half a million viewers per year in the German-speaking countries. This hearing brings together the whole spectrum, from grandma's punk to the police chief. The executive has also been professionalised: those who are good can live their performance at corporate events or advertising. But as big as the 2018 Slam, for the winner, there is only one bottle of whiskey or bitter alpine left to win. And she likes to be shared on stage with others.

Because they all form a big family. "Slamily" is always the magic word. We know each other, it is solidarity and the feeling of being who matter. And there are sometimes upheavals, as recently with the speech of a girl from an AfD politician, who was slapped by the public at an event up until the end of the day. in the finale – the scene can always be regulated. "We do not need a central council," says Hofstetter. It's like organizing the Champions League of the Alternative Football Association. And of course, there will be a football game at Slam 2018, in addition to an erotic slam reading or sequels in the complementary program: FK Interslam will face FC Gemeindat from the city of Zurich.

From 6 to 10 November, www.slam2018.ch.

(Tages-Anzeiger)

Created: 04.11.2018, 19:21