Son of SLAM”– “Interview with William T. Langford IV
By: Lanie Dixon
lanieblaze@eXcapethematriX.com
I first met William T. Langford IV during the summer of
2000 as a student in a summer engineering academy at my alma mater, the
University of Michigan. While working for such programs over the years I’ve
encountered hundreds of bright and intelligent young people; some of which I
remember and some of which I do not.
“Will” was one I remembered. So when a friend of mine lets me know that he was going to be the feature poet at a show in Detroit this summer, I jumped at the opportunity to see one of “my babies”.
The energy in the room was palpable. Yet I still couldn’t quite believe that the people sitting on every open flat surface, including the floor, were waiting to hear my little Will.
He made his way to the mic looking quite grown, and sexy I might add. Little Will was nowhere to be found. William T. Langford IV was in the building and by the end of the night, I had a thorough understanding of how even a floor could seem luxuriously comfortable while this man’s mouth is open.
William T. Langford IV is a dynamically talented son of Detroit. To describe him as a mere spoken word artist would be tremendously unjust. His ability to command a crowd with both thunderous bravado and sweet simplicity is breathtaking. He has won several Detroit area SLAM competitions and is the new co-host of The Show at 1515 Broadway on Friday nights in Detroit. Here, William shares his thoughts on today’s poetry scene and his soulful inspiration.
LD: For those of us who might not know…what exactly is SLAM?
WTLIV: Slam was created in November of 1984 by a Chicago construction worker named Mark Smith. The premise of SLAM is that numerical assessments are attached to poetry performances. These scores are granted by a panel of judges (who are often selected randomly from the crowd at the given venue).
Typically, there are five judges. The scoring is similar to that of the Olympics; a performance may receive anywhere from a ‘0’, all the way up to a ‘10’, including all of the decimal places (1.1, 4.5, and so on).
Experienced judges determine what score is appropriate for a poem based on a LARGE array of factors. Among these are: rate of speech, lyrical content, use of vocal variation, originality and so on. Once all five judges have written down their scores for an individual performance, the TOP and BOTTOM scores (highest and lowest) are dropped. The remaining three are added together to determine the poets score for that particular round. The max score for a round is typically 30. After that, the rest is child’s play; after a set number of rounds, the poet with the most points is deemed the winner.
LD: What SLAM titles do you hold?
WTLIV: Member of the 2006 Detroit Youth Slam Team (competed at nationals in NY)
2007 The Detroit Citywide Poets Slam Champion
2007 Cass Technical HS Grand Slam Champion
2007 Controlled Burn Workshop Slam Champion
2007 Scholastic Gold Key Award for Poetry Winner
2006 Michigan Youth Arts Festival Merit Award for Poetry
2006 Cass Tech HS “Poetry in Motion Contest” Winner
LD: Your work is full is sage wisdom and knowledge…and you’re only how old?
WTLIV: (Smiles) The tender age of 18…
LD: Would you consider yourself an old soul? If so, when did you realize it?
WTLIV: Yes. I began to realize that some of my taste in music was a bit…as some would call it ‘antiquated’. This was at about the age of 8. I wasn’t writing poetry then, but I LOVED Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Barry White, Marvin Gaye…and so on. As I got to about 14, I began to recognize my affinity for the past. So much of our future lies in the error and the successes of our past. Without proper perspective on a spectrum of time LARGER than 1990 and forward, how can one consider himself well rounded?
There is so much to learn from our national tragedies, our wars, our grandparents…
LD: Are you more comfortable writing or reciting your works?
WTLIV: I’d have to say that I’m equally comfortable
with both. Writing produces those “VIOLA!”
moments, those moments when you know
that you’ve broken through your comfort zone and created something new,
something different, something frightening, even…The stage introduces a
different thrill all together. Applause produces a more immediate gratification
(though often less satisfying) than do the revelations at my desk. Neither has
ever proved ‘less than comfortable, though.
LD: What inspires you to write? Is it constant or do you ever go for long periods without writing?
WTLIV: Inspiration is a tough thing to grasp. Passion is more tangible. It scorches my soul to bear witness to America’s apathetic attitude towards starving, war-torn, poverty-stricken nations while we’re facing an OBESITY EPEDEMIC. How ridiculous is that? My inspiration is often the product of my ever-shortening tolerance of social injustice and racial and religious intolerance. That is not to say, however, that my writing is all of a politically partisan and ‘preachy’ nature, no. Rather, I find the greatest ‘emotional stirring’ when these things come to mind. I am inspired to write by the thrill of knowing my words will reach someone’s ears and CHANGE their perception, make them think twice about the way they’re living their life. I am inspired by the thought that perhaps I’M inspiring someone else to stand up for their self, for what it is THEY believe in…a bit of a poem for further explanation, perhaps?
What is SLAM? (An Exerpt)
I want my words to spray
Sincerity in buckshot
To back rows and rafters
Master this art we call ‘SLAM’-
Is where my heart is
Though it doest pay the bills,
It pays in the chills I get
When a Def Poet jams a stanza
And I decide to SLAM against apathy’s cancer Learn that the world is bigger than Michigan’s 7% unemployment Bigger than Detroit Bigger than America Bigger than my voice Bigger than MY voice I want my voice to echo To anyone’s ears who ever feared to speak That their feet might replace mine on this stage Or make the sun so intense that it dries up bliss and ignorance alike Or makes it rain sympathy for Rwanda 13 years ago…
LD: What’s your favorite piece written by another poet?
WTLIV: “Sign Language” by Rives, a performance poet
from California
LD: Of course I have to ask… What poem of yours are you most proud of?
WTLIV: That’s a TOUGH question. If my life depended upon it, I would have to way my pride most heavily on “Miss Lady”. “Miss Lady” is a first-person foray into the life of a ‘lady of the night’ (a prostitute). It begs the reader to ask ‘Who WAS she? Who IS she?” So often, we dismiss those things and people we find unsightly and unwholesome, even look down upon them. “Miss Lady” seeks to humanize the plight of these women we’ve forgotten, these women forsaken by the often unfortunate turns life can take.
LD: What can people expect to experience when they come to one of your shows?
WTLIV: They can expect emotional movement. I have pieces that bring ME to tears, and conversely, I have pieces that inspire laughter from deep in my soul.
Anyone who comes to one of my shows can expect to get a glimpse into my mind and my heart all at once. You can expect to feel comfortable, and yet pensive. My writing aims at posing questions to my audience as to their own methods of thinking, their own practices, their own stereotypes and traditions. My performance bears all the passion I can harness. Expect to leave satisfied, and with A LOT on your mind.
LD: Your “Revisions to the Willie Lynch Letter” is absolutely amazing. What has the response been from both sides of the issue?
WTLIV: Thank you. “Revisions” presents the issue of modern poets and poetry being oppressed by modern society, and its tendency to shy from deviations from its more ‘well respected’ art forms. Slam poetry is rather new amidst the scheme of poetry’s existence, and consequently, it is still moving toward a place where it can be universally excepted as a legitimate art form. The marriage of the concept of this ‘oppression’ in conjunction with the premise of the original Willie Lynch Letter (a ‘How To’ guide on controlling black slaves) seemed almost natural to me, as I equate restriction of free speech with enslavement on several levels. The title is received with mixed reactions of surprise and the occasional smile.
By its end however, most members of the audience agree that (as the poem
argues) modern day poets ARE oppressed often times by the conventions of Whitman-era poetry as well as modern society.
LD: Can you tell us about some of your other
passions & talents?
WTLIV: Well, I’ve been dancing (tap and some jazz) at Marygrove College for eleven years now; I’d have to say that dance is one of my biggest passions. I practically LIVE in the water; I served as the captain of my team in high school. A large portion of my heart lies in teaching, as well.
I was able to teach a “Poetry 101” class at my HS for a stint of my senior year. I thirst constantly for knowledge; be it obscure, antiquated, or of little apparent relevance, I believe that the search and absorption of knowledge is what brings us closest to being ‘whole’ human beings. The opportunity to be a conduit for that process (by teaching) is an amazingly awarding feeling.
LD: Where would you like to see the “poetry scene” in the next five to ten years? Where do you see yourself fitting into it?
WTLIV: I want to see the poetry scene in Detroit grow. I want the poetry scene to grow nationally as well. Firstly, as a city, I want to see Detroit SUPPORT its artists more. It pains me that ‘garbage’ sells these days (speaking in terms of popular hip-hop centered music), while poetry struggles as a genre. I’m not placing poetry above hip-hop, nor am I equating hip-hop with garbage. I’m not the sort of person who approves of the “N Word”
or the misogyny in today’s hip-hop. I’d like the poetry scene and the hip-hop scene to merge into a place of peaceful coexistence where BOTH can be mainstream and given equal respect. I want to see poetry grow in popularity to a place where it is no longer represented in the stereotypical thoughts of bongos, black turtlenecks, and berets. I’d like to see more televised poetry as well; more than just Def Poetry Jam (which I enjoy) and Lyric Cafe. I think that all of these things are possible (not necessarily easily accomplished though) in the next ten years.
LD: I know you return to the D from “that school” periodically to perform. I look forward to catching another one of your shows in the near future. Thank you for your time!
WTLIV: LOL. But of course. Its my pleasure (Go Green)!
You can contact William at : http://www.myspace.com/willtlangford or willakamrswim@yahoo.com