Crown Heights Poetry Slam Mission Statement

I was thinking of ignoring this whole issue. This is something taking place in my real life, and so what is being said on the internet doesn't really matter. But somehow blogging has become more than just a way to waste time. I feel like a journalist, like I have a commitment to discovering and discussing the truth. One of the reasons bloggers group together in communities is to call each other on our BS, to make each other dig deep and really figure out what the hell we are doing in our lives - our REAL lives.

So I'm not going to ignore this discussion.

The poetry slam was not my creation. It was a gift to me, from my older brother. Truthfully? I would never have created such a thing, simply because I wouldn't have thought I could! But Levi did. And he gave it to me because he believed I could do it. And I have.

It wasn't until after I was in charge that I had to think about what it was, and what I wanted it to be, and what and who and how and all those questions that have been raised. I have come to some of the answers by experimentation, and some by exploration.

I have some idea of what the Crown Heights Poetry slam is now. And I'm going to share it with you.

Words have incredible power. They take the reader to places they could never be, physically. They allow you to have unity with another person's mind and heart. They can mystify and clarify.

Poetry, especially perfomance poetry, can be a way to use words on a deeper level. The author is allowed to break grammatical rules and societal rules and whatever else in order to discover or create something that is unique to them, to their soul. You can tell a story, view the world through someone else's eyes, relive a traumatic or joyous experience, or tell a joke. It is a way to process your life, or the world, or anything; it is a way to connect to your discoveries and creations

That's how I view poetry.

Now here's how I view myself.

I am a Jew. That is the first and most primary way I identify myself, before my name, before my gender, before anything else. I have a Jewish soul.

And no matter what I'm doing, I am a Jew doing that.

So everything I do is - should be! - a Jewish thing.

Including my poetry.

When I tell a story, I can tell the story of the first time I davened. When I look through another's eyes, it can be that of the non-Jews who surround me, or the Jewish boy I imagine I will be the mother of someday. When I relieve an experience, no matter what it was, my Jewish soul was experiencing it.

So that is what the poetry slam is.

A place for Jews to come and relate their Jewish experiences.

It's not meant to be a shlichus. It's not meant only for religious Jews. It's a place for Jewish expression of the Jewish experience, whatever that is.

I want it to be as welcoming as possible for any Jew who comes.Religious, non-religious, man or woman.

With that in mind, the suggestion of separate seating was a welcome one. As for questions about a mechitza, or whether or not this event should even exist (because it is a mixed event), I personally don't feel those are relevant issues considering my goals. (Of course, my personal opinion isn't enough to rely on, and I do intend to ask my rav his perspective on this event.)

That's about it.

Any questions?