I used to have a narrow view of poets and poetry in high school. I imagined poets wearing black clothes, smoking cigarettes, playing the bongos and making wild sounds while reading their work. Oh, and don’t forget the snapping fingers, since you don’t clap for poets. And more often than not, I couldn’t understand what their main point was. It was if they were reciting beautiful descriptions that had no overall purpose to† address deeper meaning.
But when I met transgender slam poet Harvey Katz earlier this week, I became exposed to a style of performance that shook up my stuffy notion of poetry. On Monday evening, in Kauke Tower, Allies & Queers hosted Katz in for an intimate night of LGBT poetry reading.
Perfoming under the name “Athens Boys Choir,” Katz delivered an impressive presentation of his poetry from memory while performing† as if he was a hip-hop artist. He has been touring around the country since 2003 and proclaims himself to be “spoken-word/queer/pop culture/homo-hop” performer.
What he gave the audience were raw and honest performances that allowed them to appreciate the art of reciting spoken word poetry in a musical sense. Though he has written and performed songs in the past, he was able to transform his words into exquisite verses that could preach about a range of topics including gender, politics and love. My favorite poem was “Mama Needs Some Love,” where he begged America to open up its arms to let go of all its problems (such as the backstabbing politics and constant drive for war) to give peace and love a chance. Amen!
In between performing poems and drinking out of a jug of water, Katz told jokes and gave some short story snippets of his life. My favorite moment was when he told the story about how he came out to his Jewish grandmother as transgender.
He was nervous, but his bravery paid off when his grandmother told him, “Oh, well I have been watching this special on Oprah about people who are transgenderÖ”
Katz then smiled in delight at the audience and said, “Yes, thank you Oprah for teaching my grandma about transgender people.”
One of the greatest parts of his presentation was prefacing what inspired him to write a poem. He declared one time to never date a poet or they’ll talk about you in their journal and then perform in poetry. But then he comically slipped in there, “Oops, guess who’s about to do that.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his stories since he was able to create a relaxed atmosphere for the audience.
The best part about Katz was how easily you could hold a conversation with him and how down to earth he was. He was chill, insightful, smart, (did I say funny?), and glad that he got to perform on this campus and would love to do it again (yes, please). So naturally, I bought a T-shirt and CD of some of his recent work; I like to support dedicated, independent artists like Katz who change my view of any type of art and performance.
Want more Katz? Then head on over to http://www.athensboyschoir.com/