The Center Cannot Hold:
Slam, Academia & the Battle for America's Bourgeoisie
I USE THE ENEMY. . . .
Perhaps, then, there is a market for a poetics that is indeed threatening to the bourgeoisie. Perhaps -- and this is a speculation -- that market comes in large part from the bourgeoisie itself. It wouldn’t be surprising. Times of economic prosperity have always heralded shifts in poetic taste. The Eisenhower era, for example, led directly to both the antiestablishmentarian Beats and the patriarchy-threatening Confessionals, eventually (and sometimes despite the Beats’ best efforts) landing their work before a hungry middle class.
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their appeal to non-traditional poetry audiences |
The success of these genres came from their appeal to non-traditional poetry audiences, people looking for something outside what the poetry establishment was offering. Would, then, any new poetics existing outside the boundaries and influence of the establishment not serve as a threat to the business-as-usual of the university programs, or the Academy that feeds off them? How much poetry traffic can the middle class market bear? One imagines, not much.
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how much poetry traffic. . . |
“Curse the system stylishly enough,” remarked rock musician Mick Jagger, “and the system just might love you for it.” Moreover, times of economic prosperity come with a bit of social breathing room, and a sort of national soul-searching. Certainly, even the conservative press is unable to avert its eyes from the gross misconduct of our police forces in New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles. Public outrage bubbled to the surface over the forced removal of the homeless from the vicinity of the Democratic National Convention, mirroring forced relocations in ostensibly liberal San Francisco. A shocked nation reels as genetic testing has exonerated more than 80 death row inmates, and stands collectively horrified at the idea that more than a full per cent of the American population is in prison.
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. . . can the middle class market bear? |
These are soul-searching times, demanding of maverick poets that they speak to these issues, not of big houses in the country. Ironically, the organization of poets best suited to this, Poetry Slam, Inc. -- has already begun its own journey down the path of institutionalization. In short, the radical collection of anarchists, rappers, socialists and what have you is poised not only to dominate American poetry, but to become, in turn, “the establishment.” And like all institutions, it runs the risk of becoming rigid, inflexible and conservative.
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these are soul-searching times |
It wouldn’t be surprising. Although the Slam has yet to relinquish its anarchic roots and postures, it has already pulled back from its wildfire ten-year growth to begin practices aimed at protecting it, its finances and its reputation. Threatened by having its name and concept co-opted by outside forces, such as MTV, the organization has cracked down on its copyright, preventing its name from being used without permission. Moreover, through incorporation, it’s made moves to protect its individual members from litigation, and to protect itself from bankruptcy while producing a major annual festival.
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will Slam become the Academy? |
These aren’t bad things, by any stretch of the imagination, but as shown by the example of the Academy, success inevitably comes with a price. The question is, how much of Slam’s success is dependent on Middle America, and what happens when that period of soul-searching fades? Will the Slam’s revolutionary tone change? Will it, in fact, become the Academy, or worse, nothing at all?
Read on: No Future?
