SLAM: THE ETHICS OF EMBODIMENT – A CASE STUDY OF MARIE DARAH’S WORKS

Abstract

A slam text lasts no more than three minutes and is recited by the person who wrote it in front of an audience, without a stage set, music, or costumes. Because of its egalitarian and minimalist aesthetic based on embodiment (the poetic “I” corresponds to the “I” of the poet), slam poetry is a field in which the homology between one’s lifestyle and poetic writing style can be investigated. What is more, the main rule of slam is political understanding, an ethic that underpins its vibrant aesthetic. Therefore, its emancipatory power stems from two of its defining aspects: its principles and its form. Characterized by a certain formal freedom, this kind of poetic self-narrative contrasts with classical poetry insofar as it refuses to follow predefined aesthetic rules. However, there are many formal legacies linked to orality, to the need to memorize or to “slam” (in the literal sense of the word). The aesthetic characteristics of slam explain why it appears to be the driving force behind a revolution in contemporary Belgian poetry. This stylistic study of slam focuses on Marie Darah, a young Belgian slammer. This choice is motivated by the fact that one of their collections of poetry or self-narratives, which they slammed and published, exemplifies the aesthetic of embodiment and reveals its outcome: the recognition of oneself and others.