The Energy of the Audience

Ara verżjoni qasira bil-Malti

Zena Edwards, the internationally acclaimed ‘new generation’ performance poet, will be performing her poetry in Malta as part of the British Council Malta Cultural Programme for CHOGM in November 2005. Adrian Grima interviews her about her poetry and music, and about hovering between the last note of the poem and the end.

Joelle Taylor writes that Zena Edwards, “is revered not only for the easy power of her words but also for her opulent delivery, for the complex manipulation of her voice. Her work is deep and sensuous, rhythmic and startling. Her poetry is not simply supported by music, but is music itself.” How does Edwards herself react to such rave reviews? Do they somehow disturb her by making her too conscious of herself when she is writing poetry?

“Not when I write my poetry, I just do what I do. I recognise that I am a growing, developing artist. I may write a bum poem. But that’s ok with me. Everyday I learn something new about my creative writing world. So I believe I’m just getting closer to being the poet/writer I’m supposed to be. The fact that someone writes such wonderful stuff about me affirms the writer/poet, let’s me know she’s headed in the right direction.

It’s at performances that I find it hard to walk on stage when the compere has just gone crazy with the intro… then I feel a little self conscious. I like my work to speak for me.”

Hiphop and Poetry

Zena Edwards was raised in Tottenham, North London. She trained as a theatre stage manager, and studied drama, media and communication at university. As a poet, she has toured the UK and Europe extensively, performing with poets such as Dana Bryant, Jonzi D, Baby Kain (Last Poets) and Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze.

She uses live sampling technology to layer her soulful singing voice and kalimba, or thumb piano from South Africa. She fuses hip-hop, jazz grooves and traditional instruments to create the soundtracks for her words and stories. Her debut album of poetry, vocals and music, entitled Healing Pool, is a clever and fresh fusion of eclectic, soulful and African traditional vibrations.

I ask Zena Edwards whether she prefers to write poetry or to perform it? How inseparable are these two, fundamentally different acts for her?

“I love performing work, especially if it involves a piece where I sing. I think I love telling stories, creating worlds with images and how words sound and feel in my mouth. When you can feel the energy of an audience whose enjoying that with you, admittedly, it is a very warm feeling.”

She describes writing as a release as much as it is a vocation. “It chose me. I have enjoyed learning how to write well, experimenting with styles, playing with being characters and eventually settling into my own voice.”

She says that she can separate writing and performing poetry quite easily - one led into the other, she wrote before she performed.

Zena Edwards has been involved in an initiative to use black music, such as hip hop, R&B and soul, to bring basic skills awareness to those in London who habitually miss out of school. I ask her how has the project has progressed?

“I feel very strongly about this actually. It is becoming more and more obvious that we need to pay attention to the impact of Hiphop on the world. It is exploited as an art form for money all the time so why not use it as a tool to encourage literacy and the love of language? There are many young people in schools, (some excluded too) who are considered illiterate but display high levels of literacy in the playground, at home, on the street where they have lyrics and rhymes, even poems, in their heads or scribbled on bits paper, on a note book somewhere. The spelling might not always be great but they have a strong understanding of language, word play, metaphor and storytelling as they ‘spit lyrics’ or ‘bust rhymes’ about what’s going on in their world and how they feel about it.”

She feels that her role as poet is to provide marginalised youth with a platform where they are encouraged to find, express and keep hold of their voice in a world that they perceive doesn’t really seem to care what have to say. They feel “written off.”

Hiphop, she argues, has to be understood as a culture with a historical spine beginning in 1970’s New York. “It has codes of conduct that are not what we see commercially. Check KRS1’s Temple of Hiphop website and Afrika Bambataa’s The Official website of The Universal Zulu Nation for the basics. The guns and misogyny factor is an encouraged record industry detraction from Hiphops' essence, which is actually ‘Peace, Love, Unity and Having Fun.’ Any true Hiphop head knows that is

THE Hiphop mantra.”

She believes that “once this is recognised and there is a very high level of language comprehension, even the creation of a another level that is culturally rich - not as a sub-culture but as a global, uniting culture - then steps can be taken to encourage educational institutes to embrace new and dynamic ways of teaching language and literacy in school. They mustn’t be scared about doing it.”

We talk about audiences. How important is what her audience tells her about her poetry and how she performs it?

Zena Edwards says that she loved any feedback she gets from audiences, even if they didn’t like her work. She’s happy whenever people are moved in some way by her work. It’s her job “to move something inside that internal world of an audience.” She quotes the English poet Philip Larkin who once said: “Poetry should begin with emotion in the poet, and end with the same emotion in the reader. The poem is simply the instrument of transference.” In the past it would have bothered her to get negative criticism but “I realised that that is part of shaping the crafts women in me and welcome any form of criticism. It is always wonderful to know how you have touched people. It definitely encourages me to press on with my works.”

Not surprisingly, in her workshops she has worked on the relationship between poetry and music. I ask her how important is it for poets to explore, and vary the rhythms within their voices?

“I work with three wonderful musicians and we go under the name Truba - short for troubadours. As the ancient griots we consider music, poetry and storytelling as a conversation. I think it’s important that the individual find what is more about finding true and comfortable for the individual and not to force any unnatural rhythmic play. Each language in the world has its own rhythm and intonation and each person has their own natural rhythm and intonation unique to their personality. It can be fun experimenting with rhythm and voice but if you feel good performing deadpan and it works as a style then it’s a strength. I would recommend any poet to experiment a musician who has a very healthy respect for poetry and the spoken word. It helps if they do because then they will listen to the words, the story and its internal mood and rhythm. For the poet, you’ll find rhythms and intonations you never knew were there before… then the conversation begins as both begin to respond to each other.”

I ask Zena Edwards whether it is rhyming that allows words to “take her higher.”

“Rhyming is a whole heap of fun, but you got to be careful not to rhyme for rhyme’s sake. There are too many other aspects of language like alliteration, onomatopoeia that make the act of reciting playful, hypnotic.”

Zena Edwards’ debut album of poetry, vocals and music, entitled Healing Pool, has been described as “a clever and fresh fusion of eclectic, soulful and African traditional vibrations.” I ask her whether there are traces of the sounds and rhythms of Tottenham in North London where she was brought up in the album.

“There are specific pieces on Healing Pool which directly and indirectly relate to my upbringing in quite a poor part of London, “Mannersless Child,” “Highhat,” “Black Son Rise.” The rhythm of the language is quite stilted and angular, I guess that denotes the hard concrete edginess of urban inner city living. Many can relate. It’s not uniquely a Tottenham experience.”

And does she long for the profound silence she writes about in the title poem, “The Healing Pool.” “Oh who doesn’t every now and then? In another poem of mine I say, ‘...ears need silence too, seeing as silence does exist.’ Such a simple idea, but how often do we actively seek out and allow ourselves that moment in complete stillness?

It’s an opportunity to really see what’s going on inside you head and heart without any external distraction. You might not always like what you find but it’s the beginning of acknowledging ugly stuff and processing a way to cope and enjoy life.”

Raw Emotion and Expression

I ask Zena Edwards whether there is anything that poetry gives to her and to her audience that music cannot give?

“Direct articulation. But I can only speak for myself in this instance. There is something about a beautiful piece of poetry that clings to your soul. I saw Maya Angelou talk last month and she advised 500 of us to learn a piece of poetry by heart that it could save your life one day and she’s right. Someone else’s poetry can articulate a lingering ache or a flirtation with joy that sometimes I can’t find on my own tongue but have been bursting with. It is such a release to read. It’s like, aaahhh at last, someone understands!

Music is also a fantastic outlet for me when I dance and sing which I love to do. I don’t believe anyone cannot sing. It’s the fear of your voice being compared, judged and ridiculed that stops people from singing out loud, even in their own homes sometimes. You only have to listen to a group of children sing and hear, that not all of them are pitch perfect but there is such purity in it. It is raw emotion and expression creatively channelled. No one should be denied that.

I share both the word and song with an audience because I can. So I will.”

What do you feel in those magical, somehow heavy moments just after you have finished your performance and the audience hasn’t yet broken the silence with its loud applause? What fills those very brief moments, if anything?

That’s such a good question. (Smile) I think I might be in the same place as the audience. Hovering between the now and the then, the last word or note of the poem…I don’t know, actually. I’ll have to pay more attention to that next time…. In fact maybe I don’t want to know it or conceptualize it…..just enjoy it holistically.”

Published by The Sunday Times (Malta), 20.10.05

L-Enerġija ta’ l-Udjenza

Zena Edwards, il-performance poet “tal-ġenerazzjoni l-ġdida” tat żewġ wirjiet f’Malta l-ġimgħa l-oħra bħala parti mill-Programm Kulturali tal-British Council ta’ Malta għaċ-CHOGM. Din il-poetessa jqisuha bħala “wieħed mill-ilħna l-iktar friski u dinamiċi fir-Renju Unit.”

Joelle Taylor tikteb li Zena Edwards hija meqjuma mhux biss għall-ħeffa ta’ kliemha imma wkoll għall-preżentazzjoni rikka tagħha u l-manipulazzjoni kumplessa ta’ leħinha. Ix-xogħol tagħha huwa fond u senswali, ritmiku u jaħsdek. Il-poeżija tagħha mhix sempliċiment megħjuna bil-mużika, imma hija mużika fiha nnifisha.

F’intervista li Dr Adrian Grima għamel lill-poetessa, huwa staqsieha jekk ir-reazzjonijiet tant pożittivi għax-xogħol tagħha jfixkluhiex b’xi mod, billi jagħmluha wisq konxja tagħha nnifisha meta tkun qed tikteb il-poeżija.

“Meta nikteb il-poeżija sempliċiment nikteb, u ma naħseb fuq xejn aktar. Nagħraf li jien artista li qed nikber, niżviluppa. Nista’ nikteb poeżija fjakka. Imma għalija ma jkun ġara xejn. Kuljum nitgħallem xi ħaġa ġdida dwar id-dinja tal-kitba kreattiva tiegħi. Hekk nemmen li qiegħda sempliċiment noqrob biex inkun il-poetessa/kittieba li suppost inkun. Il-fatt li xi ħadd jikteb affarijiet tant sbieħ dwari, jafferma l-kittieba/poetessa, jippermettili nagħraf li din miexja fid-direzzjoni t-tajba.

Jekk qabel ma nitla’ fuq il-palk min jippreżentani lill-pubbliku jħalli l-kelma tiġri bih insibha ftit diffiċli għax inħossni daqsxejn konxja minni nnifsi. Jien inħobb li x-xogħol tiegħi jitkellem għalija.”

Il-Hip-Hop u l-Poeżija

Edwards trabbiet f’Tottenham, fit-tramuntana ta’ Londra. Tħarrġet fit-tmexxija tat-teatru, u studjat id-drama, il-midja u l-kommunikazzjoni fl-università. Bħala poetessa, daret ir-Renju Unit u l-Ewropa, u tat rappreżentazzjonijiet ma’ poeti bħalma huma Dana Bryant, Jonzi D, Baby Kain (Last Poets) u Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze.

Hija tuża teknoloġija tal-live sampling biex tagħti diversi saffi lil-leħen espressiv tagħha. Tuża wkoll il-kalimba, jiġifieri t-“pjanu tas-seba’ l-kbir” mill-Afrika t’Isfel. Hija tgħaqqad il-hip-hop, il-jazz u strumenti tradizzjonali biex toħloq is-soundtracks għall-kliem u l-istejjer tagħha. L-ewwel album tagħha ta’ poeżija, b’taħlita ta’ vuċi u mużika, jismu Healing Pool, u huwa fużjoni għaqlija u friska ta’ vibrazzjonijiet eklettiċi, espressivi u meħudin minn tradizzjonijiet Afrikani.

Adrian Grima staqsa lil Edwards tippreferix tikteb il-poeżija jew tagħti rappreżentazzjonijiet tagħha. Staqsa wkoll kemm tista’ tifred minn xulxin lil dawn iż-żewġ atti differenti.

“Ix-xogħol tar-rappreżentazzjoni nħobbu, speċjalment jekk jinvolvi biċċa li fiha nkanta. Naħseb inħobb ngħid l-istejjer, noħloq dinjiet bix-xbihat u kif jinstemgħu u jinħassu l-kliem f’ħalqi. Nammetti li meta nħoss l-enerġija ta’ l-udjenza li qed tieħu gost miegħi inġarrab sentiment sabiħ ħafna.”

Hija tiddeskrivi l-kitba bħala żvog daqskemm bħala vokazzjoni. “Kienet il-kitba li għażlitni. Jien ħadt gost nitgħallem kif nikteb tajjeb, nesperimenta bl-istili, nilgħabha ta’ karattri differenti u eventwalment insib posti fil-vuċi tiegħi stess.“

Hija tgħid li tista’ tifred il-kitba u r-rappreżentazzjoni tal-poeżija b’ċerta ħeffa – waħda wasslitha għall-oħra, kienet tikteb qabel ma bdiet tagħti r-rappreżentazzjonijiet.

Edwards tkellmet dwar il-Hip-Hop bħala kultura espressiva elaborata u b’saħħitha, li però hija l-ħin kollu sfruttata għall-flus, meta tista’ tintuża bħala għodda biex ninkoraġġixxu l-kitba u l-qari u l-imħabba għal-lingwa.

Fost mistoqsijiet oħra, Adrian Grima taqsa lil Zena Edwards dwar is-sehem tar-rima fil-poeżija tagħha.

Hija tgħid li filwaqt li tieħu gost ħafna toħloq ir-rima, “trid toqgħod attenta li ma tqabbilx sempliċiment għall-gost li tqabbel. Hemm wisq aspetti oħra tal-lingwa, bħall-alliterazzjoni u l-onomatopea li jagħmlu mill-att tar-reċitazzjoni logħba, ipnosi.”

Emozzjoni u Espressjoni Pura

Mistoqsija jekk hemmx xi ħaġa li l-poeżija tagħti lilha u lill-udjenza tagħha li l-mużika ma tistax tagħti, Edwards issemmi “L-artikulazzjoni diretta. Imma jien nista’ nitkellem għalija biss. Hemm xi ħaġa dwar biċċa poeżija sabiħa li teħel ma’ ruħek. Rajt lil Maya Angelou titkellem ix-xahar li għadda u tat parir lill-500 ruħ li konna li nitgħallmu biċċa poeżija bl-amment sabiex xi darba ssalvalna ħajjitna u għandha raġun. Il-poeżija ta’ xi ħadd ieħor tista’ tleħħen weġgħa qadima jew namrar ma’ l-hena li kultant jien ma jirnexxilix insib fuq il-ponta ta’ lsieni għalkemm inkun qed nisplodi b’dik l-emozzjoni. Il-qari kapaċi joffri serħan liema bħalu.

Il-mużika hija wkoll żvog fantastiku għalija meta niżfen u nkanta, affarijiet li nħobb nagħmel ħafna. Jien ma nemminx li hemm xi ħadd li ma jafx ikanta. Huwa l-biża’ li xi ħadd jiflilek leħnek, jiġġudikah u jirredikolah li jwaqqaf lin-nies milli jkantaw b’leħen għoli, ġieli anki f’darhom stess. Kull ma trid tagħmel hu li tisma’ grupp ta’ tfal ikantaw biex tintebaħ li mhux kollha għandhom tonalità perfetta imma hemm tant safa fil-leħen. Hija emozzjoni u espressjoni pura li toħroġ permezz tal-kreattività. Ħadd m’għandu jiċċaħħad minn din l-esperjenza qawwija.

Dan l-artiklu ta’ Simone Inguanez deher fil-Ġensillum tat-3 ta’ Diċembru 2005