Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom
-
0:14 - 0:17Phil Kaye: Hi everyone.
(Audience) Hi. -
0:17 - 0:22My name is Phil,
and I am a spoken word poet. -
0:22 - 0:26If you are sitting wondering
exactly what that might mean, that's OK. -
0:26 - 0:28A lot of times, people ask
what I do for a living, -
0:28 - 0:31and if I say, "Oh, I'm a poet," they think
-
0:31 - 0:34that is some sort of cute euphemism
for "I'm filling out job applications." -
0:34 - 0:35(Laughter)
-
0:35 - 0:37But that's actually not true.
-
0:37 - 0:39I spend a lot of my time working
-
0:39 - 0:43with schools, organizations,
and communities, -
0:43 - 0:48performing and teaching spoken word poetry
to people of all ages and backgrounds. -
0:48 - 0:50A lot of that work is
through an organization -
0:50 - 0:52called project VOICE
-
0:52 - 0:57that I co-direct with a wonderful friend
and an amazing poet, Sarah Kaye. -
0:57 - 1:00So I want to start today off with a poem.
-
1:01 - 1:03It's about my grandfather.
-
1:03 - 1:05Today is a special day for me
-
1:05 - 1:10because, even though he passed away
a few years ago, today is his birthday. -
1:10 - 1:12The poem goes like this,
-
1:14 - 1:18"My grandfather is not a strong man,
-
1:19 - 1:22but he knows what it means to build.
-
1:23 - 1:28In 1947, after he and my great-uncles
returned form the Second World War, -
1:28 - 1:31they opened up an army surplus store.
-
1:31 - 1:35They called it,
'Union War Surplus Store.' -
1:35 - 1:38Their slogan, 'From the battleship
to a hunting knife, -
1:38 - 1:40we have it, or we'll get it.'
-
1:41 - 1:43My grandfather was not a strong man,
-
1:43 - 1:45but he kept his word.
-
1:45 - 1:49The place was half store,
half encyclopedia; -
1:49 - 1:52packed, all the way to the ceiling,
-
1:52 - 1:56with odd objects that somebody,
somewhere, might want. -
1:56 - 2:00Steel toe boots, fire resistant overalls,
-
2:00 - 2:04a Czechoslovakian dental kit from 1947.
-
2:04 - 2:07Packed, all the way to the basement,
-
2:07 - 2:11with people that somebody,
somewhere else, might forget about; -
2:11 - 2:13but not here.
-
2:13 - 2:16Like Richard -
Richard who did not work there, -
2:16 - 2:21but showed up every Sunday afternoon
in his full military uniform. -
2:21 - 2:23Never bought a goddamn thing."
-
2:23 - 2:24(Laughter)
-
2:24 - 2:29"But once, brought his little girl,
held her hand, said, -
2:29 - 2:34'This is what it smelled like
when daddy was a hero.' -
2:34 - 2:36My grandfather was not a strong man,
-
2:36 - 2:38but he kept us safe.
-
2:38 - 2:41We walked together in the park one night,
-
2:41 - 2:44and a jagged man,
with more tattoo than skin, -
2:44 - 2:47walked up directly
to my grandfather and said, -
2:47 - 2:49'Hey, old man!
-
2:49 - 2:52My pops used to take me
to your store as a kid, -
2:52 - 2:55and you shook my hand once,
like I was a man. -
2:55 - 2:57I still remember that.'
-
2:58 - 3:01My grandfather's office was upstairs,
-
3:01 - 3:05but he liked to work down
on the floor, lent anybody a smile. -
3:05 - 3:08Everybody called him, 'Cheerful Al.'
-
3:08 - 3:12With his big belly,
bold head, long, gray beard, -
3:12 - 3:16little kids would see him
and go, 'Santa Claus!'" -
3:16 - 3:17(Laughter)
-
3:17 - 3:22"Six years after Union War
Surplus Store opened its doors, -
3:22 - 3:26my grandfather had a son, my dad.
-
3:26 - 3:30He is not a strong man,
but he knows what it means to build. -
3:30 - 3:33One summer, when he was a teenager,
he worked at the store, -
3:33 - 3:37built a door in the back;
it's still there. -
3:37 - 3:42Forty years after Union War
Surplus Store opened its doors, -
3:42 - 3:44my father had a son.
-
3:44 - 3:46I am not a strong boy,
-
3:46 - 3:49but I'm trying to learn
what it means to build. -
3:49 - 3:52One summer, when I was a teenager,
I worked at the store, -
3:52 - 3:56built this display that went
all the way up to the ceiling. -
3:56 - 3:59The same ceiling where my dad
taught me to identify things, -
3:59 - 4:04'Oh, this here? This is
an old American bombshell. -
4:04 - 4:08You may want to hold it,
but be careful not to hurt yourself.' -
4:08 - 4:12'Oh, her there? She is
a young American bombshell. -
4:12 - 4:15You may want to hold her,
but be careful not to hurt yourself.'" -
4:15 - 4:17(Laughter)
-
4:17 - 4:21"Soon after my father built his door,
he walked through it, -
4:21 - 4:25built his own half encyclopedia;
made my grandfather very proud. -
4:25 - 4:30Soon after, I built my display,
I ran up to my grandfather's office, -
4:30 - 4:35showed him what I had done,
'Very good, Phil. Very good.' -
4:35 - 4:37When I asked him what to do next,
-
4:37 - 4:41he handed me an old piece
of paper, a beat-up pen. -
4:41 - 4:43When I asked him what to do with it,
-
4:43 - 4:46he shrugged his shoulders and laughed,
-
4:46 - 4:51and I began to build
the only way I know how." -
4:52 - 4:54(Applause)
-
4:59 - 5:00Thank you.
-
5:00 - 5:02(Applause)
-
5:02 - 5:03Thank you.
-
5:03 - 5:07So that's just one example
of spoken word poetry, -
5:07 - 5:11poetry that's meant to be performed
as opposed to read on a piece of paper. -
5:11 - 5:15Sometimes, people ask about
the writing process of spoken word poetry, -
5:15 - 5:18and it's not that different
from creating something else: -
5:18 - 5:20there are drafts and revisions
-
5:20 - 5:24and hopefully, a group of people
who you trust to give you some feedback. -
5:24 - 5:28And it's a little bit
of what I wanted to talk about today. -
5:28 - 5:30I want to rewind for a little bit.
-
5:30 - 5:34It's 2006, I've just started college,
-
5:34 - 5:37and I've been doing
spoken word poetry for a few years -
5:37 - 5:39but only taught a few workshops.
-
5:39 - 5:42I find out about a volunteer opportunity
-
5:42 - 5:45to teach spoken word poetry
in the local prison system. -
5:45 - 5:48A friend urges me to sign up, so I do.
-
5:49 - 5:51And to be totally honest, at the time,
-
5:51 - 5:54I don't really think about
what I'm getting myself into, -
5:54 - 5:58I don't think about the nuances
of being a privileged kid from the suburbs -
5:58 - 6:00going into a maximum security prison.
-
6:00 - 6:05But some version of it dawns on me,
driving over for my first workshop, -
6:05 - 6:07holding on to the steering wheel,
thinking to myself, -
6:08 - 6:12"Who the hell do I think I am?
What do I have to relate? -
6:12 - 6:17Will they take me seriously?
What could I possibly teach these men?" -
6:17 - 6:21When I finally get into the workshop,
the inmates come in one by one. -
6:21 - 6:23There are 16 of them.
-
6:23 - 6:27We shake hands, we go around
and introduce ourselves. -
6:27 - 6:31There is Marcus, who is here because
he wants to write a poem to his wife -
6:31 - 6:34for their anniversary
coming up in a few months. -
6:34 - 6:37There's Graham, who's never tried
poetry before but likes rap -
6:37 - 6:40and is willing to give it a shot.
-
6:40 - 6:41And then, there's Tim.
-
6:41 - 6:46Tim leans back in his chair,
but his shoulders are tense, eyes frowned, -
6:46 - 6:49he looks directly at me and says,
-
6:50 - 6:53"My name is Tim,
and I'm just here to listen. -
6:53 - 6:58But I'm curious, how much do they pay you
to come in and teach us like this?" -
6:59 - 7:03I tell him the truth:
nothing, it's volunteering. -
7:03 - 7:06And he nods his head and says, "OK."
-
7:07 - 7:11Fast forward.
It's four weeks into the workshop. -
7:11 - 7:14Guys bring in work
about all sorts of topics. -
7:14 - 7:17Some write only about prison, the routine,
-
7:17 - 7:21the waiting, the smell of their bunk bed.
-
7:21 - 7:23Some guys never write about prison.
-
7:23 - 7:26They write about their families,
about their neighborhoods, -
7:26 - 7:29the curried goat at the corner store.
-
7:29 - 7:33Some write about their innocence,
some write about their guilt. -
7:34 - 7:38But anytime someone reads,
everyone else is quiet. -
7:38 - 7:40There's a guy in the workshop named Gabe.
-
7:40 - 7:42Gabe is Italian.
-
7:42 - 7:45His heritage comes up
all the time in his work, -
7:45 - 7:47his roots are important to him.
-
7:47 - 7:50One time, after getting feedback,
he looks around, and he says, -
7:50 - 7:55"You know, I've never taken advice
from a non Italian before -
7:55 - 7:56(Laughter)
-
7:56 - 7:58it turns out you guys
are all pretty smart." -
8:00 - 8:02I see it happens slowly:
-
8:02 - 8:07the walls between us start to crumble,
we are not strangers anymore. -
8:07 - 8:09I see in week 5,
-
8:09 - 8:13when the guys start to sit next to people
they didn't know before the workshop. -
8:13 - 8:14Or week 7,
-
8:14 - 8:17when they've got so much positive
feedback for each other, -
8:17 - 8:18they've got to write it down
-
8:18 - 8:21because we don't have time
to get to all of it. -
8:21 - 8:22Or week 9,
-
8:22 - 8:25when they start quoting
each other's poems. -
8:25 - 8:27I'm still an outsider,
-
8:27 - 8:32still a naive kid working in a prison
with guys more than twice my age, -
8:32 - 8:36but I appreciate the fact
that they share their community with me, -
8:36 - 8:40let me be just who I am
even if for only a few hours a week. -
8:40 - 8:44It's my first experience
being in a community of writers, -
8:44 - 8:45knowing what it's like to have
-
8:45 - 8:47a group of people
that want to make you better. -
8:47 - 8:51I learn what it feels like
to tear some soft part of yourself, -
8:51 - 8:54give it to a group of people
to gently mold it, -
8:54 - 8:57hand it back to you
better than they found it. -
8:57 - 8:59It's a maximum security prison,
-
8:59 - 9:04the last place I'd ever thought
I'd learn to let my writing be vulnerable. -
9:05 - 9:07Fast forward.
-
9:07 - 9:13It's week 11; not everyone in the workshop
has brought in poetry to share. -
9:13 - 9:18Tim is the most thoughtful source
of feedback in the classroom, -
9:18 - 9:21but hasn't brought in
any of his own poetry. -
9:21 - 9:23I don't know whether to press him on it.
-
9:23 - 9:24In workshops like this,
-
9:24 - 9:28there's all kinds of reasons
guys don't bring in work, -
9:28 - 9:31from learning disabilities
to reading and writing issues -
9:31 - 9:36to fear of ridicule or even violence
outside the classroom. -
9:36 - 9:38But at the end of the workshop
on the eleventh week, -
9:38 - 9:40Tim asks if we can walk together.
-
9:40 - 9:42I tell him "Sure."
-
9:42 - 9:45But I realize, as soon as I say that,
-
9:45 - 9:49that the only walk from the workshop
to the exit is through the prison yard. -
9:49 - 9:53Walking through the prison yard together
is a significant act. -
9:54 - 9:57Our friendship in the safety
of the classroom is one thing, -
9:57 - 10:01but in the public view of the prison yard,
it's a risk for both of us. -
10:01 - 10:06For me, there's a danger of looking
overly friendly with the inmates, -
10:06 - 10:10something that the guards don't like
and can even shut the workshop down over. -
10:10 - 10:14For Tim, there's a risk
of looking like a suck-up, -
10:14 - 10:17a reputation that can have
very real and damaging consequences -
10:17 - 10:20in the social structure of the prison.
-
10:21 - 10:23But we are two workshop collaborators,
-
10:23 - 10:26trading ideas,
trying to make each other better, -
10:26 - 10:30so we open the door and begin walking
across the prison yard, -
10:30 - 10:32in step, slowly.
-
10:33 - 10:36And to my surprise, Tim asks me
-
10:36 - 10:40why I haven't brought
any of my own poems in yet. -
10:40 - 10:41(Laughter)
-
10:41 - 10:45Maybe, maybe it was because I was
inexperienced as a facilitator, -
10:45 - 10:47or maybe just a little lack
of self-confidence, -
10:47 - 10:51but I didn't think anybody would notice.
-
10:51 - 10:54I tell him that I've been stuck.
-
10:54 - 10:56He tells me that he is too.
-
10:56 - 10:58So we make a pact to each other
-
10:58 - 11:01that the next week, we're going
to bring in a piece for each other, -
11:01 - 11:02even if it's short,
-
11:02 - 11:06even if the other person
is the only person to see it. -
11:06 - 11:09I remember the best piece
of writing advice I ever got, -
11:09 - 11:13which is from my ninth grade
English teacher named Arly Parker. -
11:13 - 11:17Mr. Parker said that when you sit down
to write the first draft -
11:17 - 11:21to not be scared but to imagine
a head on your shoulder, -
11:21 - 11:22the head of someone who thinks
-
11:22 - 11:25you are the greatest writer
since Shakespeare, -
11:25 - 11:29and to imagine what they would say
as they are reading your writing. -
11:29 - 11:31For me, that person is my mom.
-
11:31 - 11:35God bless her, I could draw
an ugly stick figure on a dirty napkin, -
11:35 - 11:39and she would say,
"This is the next big thing." -
11:39 - 11:40(Laughter)
-
11:40 - 11:43What Mr. Parker was teaching me to do
-
11:43 - 11:47was listen to that voice
in my head that says yes -
11:47 - 11:51to all my crazy ideas, to all our risks.
-
11:51 - 11:52And then Mr. Parker said,
-
11:52 - 11:55"When you sit down to revise,
to write your second draft, -
11:55 - 11:58you have to imagine
another head on your shoulder -
11:58 - 12:01of someone you respect,
but who can give you critical feedback." -
12:01 - 12:05For me, it was another English teacher
named Mr. Clemson. -
12:05 - 12:07Mr. Clemson and I
had a great relationship, -
12:07 - 12:09but he was tough on me.
-
12:09 - 12:11As I read through the piece,
I could hear him going, -
12:11 - 12:13"This part doesn't make any sense."
-
12:13 - 12:15"What are you trying to say here?"
-
12:15 - 12:19"This line is not nearly
as funny as you think it is." -
12:19 - 12:24And with that, Mr. Parker taught me
to take risks in my first draft -
12:24 - 12:27and see which of those risks
actually paid off in the second. -
12:27 - 12:30The following week,
at the beginning of the workshop, -
12:31 - 12:33Tim slid me a piece of paper.
-
12:34 - 12:36I slid him one too.
-
12:36 - 12:39And the next week,
he slid me two pieces of paper. -
12:39 - 12:42And the week after that,
he shared it out loud. -
12:42 - 12:44And the week after that, so did I.
-
12:46 - 12:47Fast forward.
-
12:47 - 12:49It's the final week of the workshop.
-
12:49 - 12:54Everyone has brought in all the pieces
they worked on over the semester. -
12:54 - 12:56I see a room full of smiling men,
-
12:56 - 13:01each with a small stack
of wrinkled paper in front of them. -
13:01 - 13:04Tim's stack is a little higher than most.
-
13:04 - 13:09And we go around the room, trading poems,
pulling away our breastplates, -
13:09 - 13:12letting the others peer in.
-
13:12 - 13:14And I realize,
halfway through the workshop, -
13:14 - 13:16that for most of these poems,
-
13:16 - 13:18that will be the only time
they are shared aloud. -
13:18 - 13:21And I realize also that, up to that point,
-
13:21 - 13:24I had only written poems to share,
-
13:24 - 13:27for people to say "Good job,"
for YouTube hits, -
13:27 - 13:30for a room full of applauding hands.
-
13:30 - 13:35They were not writing for recognition,
they were writing for the sake of writing, -
13:35 - 13:39to figure things out,
for the promise of self-discovery. -
13:39 - 13:41Tim volunteers to read a poem.
-
13:41 - 13:43It's about paper,
-
13:43 - 13:46about how wonderful it is,
in a place like prison, -
13:46 - 13:50to have a space where you can see
your own thoughts, -
13:50 - 13:52hold them in your hand.
-
13:52 - 13:55We share poems about all sorts of things.
-
13:55 - 13:58There's a poem about
learning how to whistle, -
13:58 - 14:00a poem about first kisses,
-
14:00 - 14:05a poem about the joys
of a good, long, well-timed fart. -
14:05 - 14:06(Laughter)
-
14:07 - 14:10We share the dusty corners of ourselves,
-
14:11 - 14:14the parts no one asks about,
-
14:14 - 14:18the things that don't show up
on a police record or an artist bio. -
14:19 - 14:23For that moment,
we are 17 men sharing poetry, -
14:23 - 14:28not defined by our age or our past
but the four walls around us. -
14:29 - 14:33Last year, I traveled
thousands of miles sharing poetry, -
14:33 - 14:36but some of the most
talented artists I know -
14:36 - 14:38rarely leave a prison cell.
-
14:38 - 14:43It's something I do not forget,
an unfair reality I carry with me. -
14:44 - 14:49At the end of the last workshop,
Tim asks if we can walk together. -
14:49 - 14:50I tell him "Sure."
-
14:50 - 14:54We open the door
and walk across the prison yard. -
14:54 - 14:58Tim asks whether I will remember him.
I tell him "Of course." -
14:58 - 15:03He says, "Well, kick some ass
out there. For us." -
15:03 - 15:06And I tell him, "I will try."
-
15:07 - 15:10And with that, I wanted to end
with one last poem, -
15:10 - 15:14a poem I started working on
when I was working in the prisons. -
15:14 - 15:16Thank you all for being here,
thank you all for listening, -
15:16 - 15:18it's been a real, real honor.
-
15:21 - 15:24"My mother taught me this trick,
-
15:25 - 15:28if you repeat something
over and over again, -
15:28 - 15:30it loses its meaning.
-
15:30 - 15:32For example: homework,
-
15:32 - 15:36homework, homework, homework, homework,
homework, homework, homework, homework. -
15:36 - 15:38See? Nothing.
-
15:38 - 15:42'Our lives,' she said, 'are the same way.'
-
15:42 - 15:46If you watch the sunset too often,
it just becomes six pm. -
15:46 - 15:50You make the same mistake over and over,
you'll stop calling it a mistake. -
15:50 - 15:53If you just wake up, wake up, wake up,
wake up, wake up, wake up, -
15:53 - 15:55one day you'll forget why.
-
15:55 - 15:58'Nothing is forever, ' she said.
-
15:59 - 16:02My parents left each other
when I was seven years old. -
16:02 - 16:06Before their last argument,
they sent me off to the neighbor's house, -
16:06 - 16:10like some astronaut
kicked out of the shuttle. -
16:10 - 16:14When I came back,
there was no gravity in our home. -
16:14 - 16:17I imagined it as an accident.
-
16:17 - 16:19But when I left,
they whispered to each other, -
16:19 - 16:20'I love you.'
-
16:20 - 16:23So many times over
that they forgot what it meant. -
16:23 - 16:28Family, family, family, family,
family, family, family. -
16:28 - 16:30My mother taught me this trick.
-
16:30 - 16:34If you repeat something over
and over again, it loses its meaning. -
16:34 - 16:36This became my favorite game.
-
16:36 - 16:38It made the sting of words evaporate.
-
16:38 - 16:40Separation, separation, separation.
-
16:40 - 16:41See? Nothing.
-
16:41 - 16:43Apart, apart, apart, apart.
-
16:43 - 16:45See? Nothing.
-
16:45 - 16:47I'm an injured handy man now.
-
16:47 - 16:51I work with words all day. Shut up.
-
16:51 - 16:52I know the irony.
-
16:52 - 16:54When I was young, I was taught
-
16:54 - 16:57that the trick to dominating language
-
16:57 - 16:58was breaking it down,
-
16:58 - 17:01convincing it that it was worthless.
-
17:01 - 17:05I love you, I love you, I love you,
I love you, I love you, I love you. -
17:05 - 17:07See? Nothing.
-
17:08 - 17:12Soon after my parents' divorce,
I developed a stutter. -
17:13 - 17:17Fate is a cruel and efficient tutor.
-
17:17 - 17:20There is no escape in stutter.
-
17:20 - 17:22You can feel the meaning of every word
-
17:22 - 17:24drag itself up your throat.
-
17:24 - 17:28S-s-s-ss-ss-separation.
-
17:28 - 17:31Stutter is a cage made of mirrors.
-
17:31 - 17:35Every 'What did you say?',
every 'Just take your time, ' -
17:35 - 17:37every 'Come on, kid. Spit it out!'
-
17:37 - 17:41is a glaring reflection
of an existence you cannot escape. -
17:41 - 17:44Every awful moment trips
over its own announcement -
17:44 - 17:46again and again and again
-
17:46 - 17:49until it just hangs there
in the center of the room -
17:49 - 17:53as if what you had to say
had no gravity at all. -
17:53 - 17:58Mom, Dad, I'm not wasteful
of my words any more. -
17:58 - 18:03Even now, after hundreds of hours
practicing away my stutter, -
18:03 - 18:07I still feel the claw of meaning
in the bottom of my throat. -
18:07 - 18:09Listen to me.
-
18:09 - 18:12I've heard that even in space
-
18:12 - 18:17you can hear the scratch
of an I-I-I-I-I-I-I love you." -
18:19 - 18:20Thank you all very much.
-
18:20 - 18:22(Applause)
- Title:
- Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
With his remarkable talent of storytelling and two captivating poems, Phil shares his journey and experience of creating poetry with inmates in maximum security prison.
Phil Kaye is a touring spoken word poet and co-director of Project VOICE. He has traveled all over the world performing his work and teaching hands-on workshops. He has appeared on NPR, performed at Lincoln Center, and is the two-time recipient of the National College Poetry Slam award for "Pushing the art forward," given for outstanding innovation in the art of performance poetry -- the only person to receive the award twice. Phil is a graduate of Brown University, where he was the former head coordinator of "Space in Prisons for the Arts and Creative Expression" (SPACE) and taught weekly poetry workshops in maximum-security prisons. His book, "A light bulb symphony," was released in 2011, and his work can be found regularly in CHAOS Magazine.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 18:30
Denise RQ commented on English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ commented on English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ commented on English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Claudia Sander commented on English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ approved English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom | ||
Denise RQ edited English subtitles for Poetry in maximum security prison | Phil Kaye | TEDxFoggyBottom |
Claudia Sander
3:08:21
bold head -> bald head
(with no hair)
Denise RQ
Hello Claudia,
Typo corrected. Thanks for reporting!
Denise RQ
Hello Claudia,
Typo corrected. Thanks for reporting!
Denise RQ
Transcript updated:
0:52 [Sarah] Kaye-->Kay
Thank you,