The "Spoken Word" scene has transformed from a niche art that operated on the fringes to one of the flourishing branches of Israeli culture.
Every year there are dozens of Poetry Slam evenings and Spoken Word events, and around them a growing community is formed that grows.
Now, in honor of the celebrations of the decade, Poetry Slam has decided to return the "Slam Festival" - the Israeli Spoken Word Festival, which will open today (Thursday) in Tel Aviv and last until Saturday.
The festival will be produced by the Incubator Theater and the Tel Aviv Municipality and will include singing events, performances, and more.
For the celebrations of the decade, we heard from Noam Pratom (poet, performer, literary editor and writing workshop facilitator), Neta Wiener (theater creator, musician and social activist) and rapper and actor Jimbo Jay (Omar Habaron), pioneers of the genre, about the beginning and The kicking scene.
Omar the Baron,
"I am one of the pioneers of this, I participated in the first event in the country," recalls Noam Pratom (36).
"After the incident I started hearing 'wow, what is this?'
I had a musician partner then, and we started recording the songs. That's how the 'Potio' project started, my filmed song on YouTube, and it suddenly spread like wildfire. After a decade I'm already identified as a pioneer of the genre. I'm just a bit of a weird chicken in the world. "Spoken Word because I'm a poet first and foremost. I come from literature and zigzag between this world and more avant-garde events of the Poetry Slam."
"This genre is interdisciplinary, and that's what fascinated me about it. I're a musician who 'surrendered' and returned to the field at the back door. I studied music at Rimon, in my youth I was an opera singer, and I teach writing and Spoken workshops. It's really a tremendous therapeutic tool in my eyes. ".
"Amit Ullman, who founded Poetry Slam Israel, grew up with me on the streets and told me that there was this competition he was picking up with two of his friends, and offered me to participate," recalled Jimbo Jay (37).
"I think the significant thing that has happened in this decade is that we now know what it is, that it's a legitimate genre that significantly surpasses many stages."
Neta Wiener, Photo: Scout Barbie
For Neta Wiener (35) it started much earlier.
"My first time was at the age of 4 on stage in the dining room at Kibbutz Givat Haim, when I went up in surprise on Passover and grabbed the microphone. There I discovered the power of man and word in front of an audience and community. It hit me at a very young age (laughs). The word in question. "
He says, "What makes this genre special to me is also the simplicity of it. It's the person, his lyrics and the audience. I think my songs, and specifically the materials with which he will perform at the festival, are a connection between very personal life stories, intimate relationships, closing accounts with "Father, with grandmother, with my daughter, relationship matters. These powers are only possible in Spoken Word and not in any other arena I know."
Weiner explains about the development of the community in Israel that "this is a community that is hungry for creativity. These are people who give a lot of respect to the Hebrew language. Its power is in connecting to poetry, theater, music or education and activism. These are many edges that manage to connect."
In preparation for the festival, Pratom participates in the personal competition that will form a central part of her performance.
"I've had two complex years because I have multiple sclerosis, and alongside the corona my disease has gone awry. I had foot paralysis and blinded in one eye. I managed to get out of it like a phoenix, and now I feel good. For the first time I will perform very exposed songs about this difficult struggle, along with The musician Tomer Katz. "
Jimbo Jay adds: "I will deal with language - the way it changes and its power to change our reality. For me it is the uniqueness of the festival and of the genre."
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