Teenagers and youth in Delhi experience the art of slam poetry live with
international poetry slam champions Kyle Louw from South Africa and Ikenna
Onyegbula from Canada.
New Delhi, India: On June 26th, Delhi Poetry Slam held an International Poetry
Slam at The Coffee Shop Saket where teenage poets from around India
performed spoken word poetry alongside internationally renowned champions
Ikenna Onyegbula and Kyle Louw.
Ikenna Onyegbula is the 2014 World Poetry Slam Champion and 4 Time
Canadian National Poetry Slam Champion. Kyle Louw is a spoken word poet
from Capetown, South Africa with numerous accolades. Young rising poets from
India who performed include Sanjana Sheth from Ahmedabad, Ankush Nagpal
from Jaipur & Vinatoli Yeptho from Nagaland among 32 others.
In their poetry, expressions ranged from subject of young love, heartbreak, social
taboos and body image. “Your hip size is 40 and your friend is 28? Don't worry,
you're beautiful” said Vinnie Nanda, who wants to change perceptions about
beauty in our society. “The bloodshed on the borders of the two young infant
nations isn’t justified by the carefully printed pictures in our Social Studies
textbooks” performed Anushka Bidani, a 15 year old on the emotional loss
caused by the Partition.
The show was conducted by Delhi Poetry Slam, an organization that provides the
biggest platform for stage poets in India. The event was sold out and attended by
over 100 people. The cafe owner, Gyurme Tenzing was so moved by the
emotions of the performing poets that he took to the stage to perform about his
empathy towards the Tibetan people and the land that has been invaded by
Chinese army. The show ended with applause, hugs and incredible energy as
fans came to speak to the international poetry superstars along with thanking the
young poets for their beautiful words.
Currently, Delhi Poetry Slam is accepting applications from high school students
for a 4 days Spoken Word and Writing Retreat on the outskirts of New Delhi at
the end of July. The retreat will focus on building poetry techniques, performance
skills and boosting their confidence. The expected number of participants for the
retreat are 50. The retreat will be led by several international visiting poets.
About Delhi Poetry Slam:
Delhi Poetry Slam is the International Centre for
Spoken Word Poets from all over the world and has hosted poets such as
Easterine Kire from Norway, Jamaal Jackson Rogers from Canada and Andy
Conner from United Kingdom. Delhi Poetry Slam provides young poets the
opportunity to learn, train and advance in spoken word poetry through courses,
programmes and retreats.
