The Ivy Leaguer Spitting Bars
As Grand Master Slam at Louder Than A Bomb, Jamila Woods organized all of the logistics of the poetry slam. She helps to ensure that there is a comfortable structure for kids to share their words and build a real community. The Brown University graduate, who is also a performer and artist in her own right, started out in the Teaching Artists Corps at YCA, which is a group of LTAB alums that want to continue in the work. Because there are not many college programs available for poetry, during the summers they receive training through the program and receive a regular stipend. She moved up to Associate Artistic Director, where she is now responsible for fostering a program to ensure YCA artists are getting the resources they need.
Jamila got hooked on YCA during a high school field trip to check out “Word Play”. Being witness to the longest running youth open mic night in the city was magical to her. It was the first time that she saw young people actually listening to each other. It was the first time that she felt very comfortable in an all youth environment. Even though she ventured off to college, she would return to open mic night during her school’s breaks. The first year that LTAB started their college slam she beat out fifty other students to win the competition. She proceeded to win the following year as well and then went on to publish a chat book after graduating from college.
The criteria for winning a LTAB competition are not specific, but based on consistent criteria from the acting judges. Judges should take into account writing over performance, originality and creativity. Winners of LTAB are usually the best writers, but each judge may be moved differently by a certain performer.
Jamila’s, Etymology of the Beauty shop, was a poem about cutting off her hair and going natural. It was one of three poems that helped her win the college slam. Because her story of accepting her natural hair is one that inspires, she continues to take it into classrooms when she is teaching. Most of the participants in LTAB are black, but more Latinos and Asians are becoming passionate about the art as well. Jamila worked with a few white suburban schools that started their version of the poetry slam called Louder Than A Lawn Mower, to reflect their own personal struggles. But some of their participants felt that they needed to have a certain type of story similar to their city counterparts to be authentic. “You don’t have to have a certain struggle to be authentic,” she explained. “As we move forward we want to talk about celebrating who you are. I think that will lessen the pressure from others that have different struggles and bring more people into the conversation.”
LTAB helped Jamila develop her voice not only as an artist, but as a person. “I didn’t have many spaces to affirm me as a young person to be authentic. The culture at my school had a lot of cliques and there were prevalent class and race differences. Nothing was done structurally to break down the environment. YCA and LTAB provided an alternative space that tries to counter the dominant narrative of what you need to succeed or to be beautiful. I’m not isolated in thinking that I’m the only one who feels this way,” she reflected. Jamila sees herself as a future musical artist and wants to start a program at YCA for female poets that are also singers. She’s excited to see LTAB grow nationally to other cities, but hopes each one reflects the uniqueness that their city brings.