Hey Claudius, thank you for doing this interview with me. To get things started can you give the readers some background information about yourself.
I was born in Marisule, St. Lucia on June 8th 1987. I attended St. Mary's College, where I developed a passion for writing; however, I decided to focus on business and sports. After graduating in 2004, I was fortunate enough to obtain a position with the National Rugby team in St. Lucia, which is where I would spend the next six years developing my skills and pursuing my new passion, rugby. I also had the opportunity of being affiliated with three different Canadian Rugby Clubs, which gave me the chance to experience and explore a variety cultures and traditions. When I travelled to Canada little did I know that I would not only get to show off my rugby skills, but also discover a hidden talent of performing poetry; as I was met with the opportunity to perform a few of my pieces at an annual poetry festival in Sarnia, Canada. New to the poetry stage, I never write any of my poems, but rather memorize each of my pieces. I believe this gives me the advantage of focusing more on the performance aspect of my work. In October of 2009, I was bestowed with the honour of performing both in Trinidad, and Tobago for a campaign called "Stop the Violence", a campaign geared towards educating youths of the consequences associated with violence. I have used my gift of poetry to appeal to children in various schools throughout Tobago. I now am an active performer in events staged by Headpunk, recently took part in the Word Alive Poetry competition held in St. Lucia and was crowned the winner of the 2010 Ponm Damou Poetry Slam. i continue to pursue poetry and am hoping to make my mark not only on the stage, but also on the field, the rugby field that is.
How did you get involved in poetry and spoken word?
I got involved in poetry when I left college in 2004 writing poems for friends and for entertainment. Then I got more and more involved in performing poetry rather than the reading aspect. I wanted to express myself more so people could see a different side of me. I started writing poetry in my head. No paper or pen, just repetitive thoughts. Like memorising a song I just went over the poem several times in my head until I said it was completed. Doing this I focused more on the performing aspect of it. Leaving the audience with opened jaws. After performing for friends who were more involved in poetry than I was around St. Lucia, I was recommended by other artistes to perform. So after a few more performances, I began to take in the feedbacks from the audiences. Some of them came to me and told me that they really loved to see me perform and that they usually come just to hear me, some tell me that what I said touched them so much which usually leaves me with my mouth open for a lost of words, others finds it entertaining so from the love I have been receiving I got more and more involved in spoken word.
How do you source inspiration? What inspires you to write?
A good poet is able to find the natural rhythms of everyday life and express them eloquently in words. There are thousands of poems out there about tired subjects like love and war which got to me. As a poet, my job was to find either a new and original take on these overused subjects or bring an original idea to life. Most of my poems were based on social issues until I started branching out to areas that surrounds my life. In doing this I get to speak freely about heartaches felt, family and a lot more issues like women in society and friends. Whether they be good or bad. This gives me an advantage in performing the poem because it comes from the heart. Now I walk around and everything is inspiration to me. Look around you. Anything, anything at all can be the subject of a poem if dealt with in an original and creative matter. So most of the times I ask myself "What if?" This helps me explore everything in a poetical way. You just have to be creative. :) The way I interpret the world is different from most people so naturally my poetry will follow suite. My poems tend to be figurative and laced with metaphors but with a sense of the gritty reality that we all can touch and feel. I listen to a lot of spoken word pieces and found out that we all have different ways of saying what needs to be said. I just try to be more creative and take the audience on the journey I went on when writing my poems. Trying to make them feel what I felt, like my experiences and emotions. So to me spoken word has more of an advantage than other forms of poetry, because there are so many different ways artistes can bring out themselves that others can't.
What are your favourite pieces of writing and why?
An artiste I love would be Saul Williams. Saul Williams' tone in his poems are quite sharp and harsh. He doesn't really waste any time; the meanings are pretty much right there, but the allusions are what takes thought. In "Sha Clack Clack," Williams makes an allusion to Medusa, the woman with snakes for hair. Medusa turns her onlookers into stone, so goes the legend, and only one hero was finally able to behead her. This is an interesting allusion, and I think Saul Williams is using the character of Medusa to convey an image of some kind of horror or fear. Everyone was scared of Medusa, and this enhances the idea that Saul Williams is conveying. He is conveying a kind of fierce pride to be black in the face of racism. In "Penny for Thought," he makes an allusion to Barney, saying "A purple dinosaur that speaks of love, a black man that speaks of blood." This juxtaposition shows the violence that has happened because of racism, and how angry black people on a whole became during that time. He is just as real as it gets so I love his work.
What other elements of The Arts are you involved with?
I have been involved in drama including miming which I do in church. Spoken word is the part of the arts that I am more involved with.
What are your views on The Arts in Saint Lucia? What changes do you think will evoke necessary/positive change to The Arts?
Poetry is the study of the world around you and more importantly, the study of yourself and what you choose to speak about through the microphones. As it stands in St. Lucia, THE ARTS to me lives on in the lives of everyday people; unfounded talents, everyday living and expressive thoughts. We often say that the government isn't doing enough but forget to ask ourselves what are we doing? Even though you don't get the support you would like from the government it is up to us as a nation to understand what we want and find means and ways to achieve it. We can't wait for the government to help us, we must help ourselves before we can get help. Spoken Word in St. Lucia has now reached a pinnacle that some question, "is it a part of our culture." There is a group of talented individuals who saw a dream of reviving the ARTS in St. Lucia and did. This group is called Headphunk who single-handedly brought back hope to the ARTS in St. Lucia. They host a show every last Thursday of the month for all artistes whether you perform poetry, sing, dance, scream and shout or just a plain supporter of arts. Because of their work in St. Lucia, I can say that they are the biggest ARTS lovers in St. Lucia. At Headphunk the stage belongs to you the artiste. You get to perform with well known artistes like Boo Hinkson, Shane Ross, Naomie "Ngozi" Grandison to name a few. Now they are well known because they took it upon themselves to start a movement. so we need to learn from them.
Finally, what advice do you have for anyone who may be interested in performing poetry?
If you are interested you need to do research. Attend events, find time to explore the world around you. Take part in activities like workshops and open mics and shoot for the stars. Also you need to discover yourself as a poet, even a genius must do this. You need to peel off your skin, squeeze out your blood and soul from your body to discover you. When you are true to yourself, then and only the can you be true to the art, audience and the world around you. You must also remember that there is no greater Sin after the seven deadly than to flatter oneself into an idea of being a great .
I would like to thank Claudius for letting me pick his brain and share it with you. It truly was an honour to have interviewed him and I hope not only Saint Lucian readers but persons from all over the world can appreciate the words given to us by him. I would like to wish Claudius the best in all his future endeavours, whether on the stage or on the field.
No comments:
Post a Comment