Airplane Poetry Movement: Putting Spoken Word In The Indian Spotlight

“Spoken word poetry gives you a medium to reproduce the missing voice of the generation.”

By Priyadarshini Gouthi

Poetry has fascinated me ever since I was a child. It made me look at the world from a lens that I least expected. Whether it was while reading Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein or Invictus by Earnest Henley, poems have had an inexplicable effect on me.

A few years ago, I stumbled across renowned spoken word poet Sarah Kay and was left mesmerized. I watched her perform her poem ‘Hands’and since then, I have always wanted to write my own spoken word poem. For me, it captures each feeling so perfectly, like a photograph captures a beautiful memory.

Airplane Poetry Movement (APM) is a project started by two college students, Nandini Varma and Shantanu Anand, in 2013. It is bringing the art of performance poetry into the spotlight and giving it the place that it rightly deserves. It aims to promote performance poetry in various cities of India through events such as slams and open mics.

I got an enriching opportunity to interview Co-Founder Nandini Varma. Read on to find out more about this project and how performance poetry is growing today.

What inspired the formation of Airplane Poetry Movement and why this name?

For me, it was Sarah Kay, and for Shantanu (Co-Founder of APM), it was Rives. We saw their TED talks in 2013, around the same time, and got hooked. Later that year, we had the privilege of interacting with Rives at TEDx Gateway, in Mumbai. He’d taken an impromptu workshop for us when we went as interns of Campus Diaries, a discovery platform for students and universities in Asia.

We were blown away and that workshop acted as a trigger for the initiation of Airplane Poetry Movement. Campus Diaries gave us the push that we needed and they’ve supported our project since its inception.

As for the name, it’s a reference to one of our favourite poems, Anis Mojgani’s For Those Who Can Still Ride in Airplanes.

I have seen that the topics of the poetry range from breaking period taboos to one’s need for validation. What prompts you to choose these topics and what do you seek to convey?

We don’t have control over the content. The poets choose the themes on their own. Having said that, as a general trend, most of the poems are contemporary in nature and approach. They talk about everyday struggles.

I think spoken word poetry gives a lot of clarity of thought as it comes with clarity of purpose. Now here, you’re not writing to communicate with your journal, a process that had probably made some of us lazy. As a spoken word poet, I’m learning to understand the things I’ve wanted to write about, while also learning to celebrate the language.

How has APM and spoken word poetry changed you personally?

Through APM, I think Shantanu and I are learning how to survive in ambiguity every day. Haha!

What obstacles have you faced in taking spoken word poetry to diverse audiences and how have you overcome them?

The main friction has been with respect to starting slams for people in different cities in India and to reach out to them. We’ve tried solving that through our internships. We’re also trying to make use of the online space to reach out to more people. We’ve had some trouble looking for venues in the past, but I think nowadays a lot of cafés and bars are open to holding poetry slams and encouraging performance events, so that has worked out for us in most cases.

According to you, what is importance of spoken word poetry and similar forms of expression in our society?

It’s important because we’ve all got something to say, and this is the best platform for to express it. Spoken word poetry gives you a medium to reproduce the missing voice of the generation.

How has the concept of performance poetry evolved over time, especially in India?

Conceptually it’s the same in India as what it came in as, because it’s still new but in terms of its familiarity, there has definitely been a tremendous growth in just a year.

Which poets or poems inspired you to pursue spoken word poetry?

Sarah Kay and Rives of course have played an important role. Anis Mojgani, Andrea Gibson and Phil Kaye are some other favourites of ours.

If you could change one thing about the way poetry as a whole is looked at in our society, what would it be?

The myth that poetry is sacred. It’s probably one of the most common ones, along with “poetry is boring”. I’d definitely like to change those two perceptions. Spoken word poetry will soon be the coolest thing that people participate in, so the sooner you catch it, the better!

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CONNECT WITH AIRPLANE POETRY MOVEMENT

If you want to start a poetry slam at your college or anywhere else, message APM on Facebook.

Follow APM on Twitter: @apm_poetry

Email them if you have any questions or just write to say hello: airplanepoetry@gmail.com

Follow Co-Founders Nandini and Shantanu on Twitter: @nandini2892 | @shantanuanand44