Directed by Alex Ramseyer-Bache and Daniel Lucchesi
2011
Have you ever thought about poetry as an unconventional genre?
We Are Poets starts with a mellow, slow, dream-like moving sequence down the streets of Leeds. While colours blend, shapes change and the camera moves a voiceover steadily and aggressively winds down some verses. Poetry happens, then the documentary starts. We Are Poets follows a group of teenage poets in their journey from the Leeds Young Authors group to Washington D.C. Brave New Voices competition. Like a friendly presence, the camera records how poetry entered their lives, their preparation for the competition and their experience in Washington D.C.
But We Are Poets is not a documentary about just any kind of poets. We Are Poets is about a group of slam poets. At a crossroad between hip hop, drama and recital, ‘slam poetry’ is a genre in evolution and one which, for the moment, happily remains outside the box. In general terms, ‘slam poetry’ designates a type of poetry written to be spoken and acted in front of an audience, often in a competition context. What strikes about it as characteristic is the energy and rhythm with which it is performed. Perhaps the poet has never been so present – in modern times – in his work: his words take shape on his face, in his voice and through his body.
This may be the reason why most of its messages are so socially engaged. Gender issues, racial issue, class-related issues, family issues are the recurrent themes. Not only does slam poetry question the rules of western poetry, it also seems to question the general status quo. We Are Poets presents a beautiful, darker side of poetry: one concerned with ugliness, injustice and anger – but resolute to strive for hope.
The story the documentary tells nevertheless questions the limits of slam poetry especially in relation to its competitive nature. While preparing for the Washington
With their youth and genuineness, the six teenagers followed by the camera soon become the embodiment of the very essence of ‘slam poetry’. Merging the boundaries between game and artistic practice they perfectly convey its spontaneous and unconventional approach. Directors Alex Ramseyer-Bache and Daniel Lucchesi successfully turned the camera from being an intrusive eye into an accomplice mirror through which the important role poetry played in the lives of these six young poets is reflected. This gives to the documentary a relaxed and light atmosphere from which poetry stands out even more forcefully, sitting somewhere between naivety and piercing awareness.
Catching a glimpse of a growing underground global artistic scene, We Are Poets proves that, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, poetry is still a young art.
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