Front Row

There has been no bigger influence on contemporary poetry than hip hop. It’s difficult to see where hip hop begins and spoken word poetry ends. But despite all their similarities, academics still argue whether rap is poetry. This month on Speak Easy, Elaine Foster speaks to Malaysian hip hop artist, Jin Hackman, and spoken word poet, Sheena Baharudin, about poetry and hip hop.

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This episode, we talk about counterculture and Beat poetry. Beat poets and the culture they espoused was anti-establishment and non-conformist. Are the hipster poets of the now “beat” in any way? Is spoken word meaningful counterculture? Jack Malik and Azizan Afi weigh in before performing their own haiku/jazz live improvisation, featuring Axam Maumoon on saxophone.

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This episode, we focus on the minority identities of East Malaysia, whose stories, our guests argue, are often hidden, lost in the larger narrative of Malaysia. We learn from them about the issues of representation, and how important it is to have a specifically Sarawakian/Sabahan voice.

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Where there has been a rise in performance poetry events there has also been an increase in stand up comedy events but it’s comedy that has been able to mainstream faster, gaining much larger audiences. The two mediums actually have a lot in common, share a history, and not just in their propensity to sometimes be funny. What can performance poets learn from stand up’s commercial success and how does comedy exploit poetry to get a few more laughs?

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Where there has been a rise in performance poetry events there has also been an increase in stand up comedy events but it’s comedy that has been able to mainstream faster, gaining much larger audiences. The two mediums actually have a lot in common, share a history, and not just in their propensity to sometimes be funny. What can performance poets learn from stand up’s commercial success and how does comedy exploit poetry to get a few more laughs?

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Speak Easy is a monthly spoken word poetry show featuring local talents every first Tuesday of the month. In this second instalment, Elaine Foster speaks to slam experts Jamal Raslan and Yohanna Yusrinal about poetry slam, the competition that poets love to hate. This month’s writing prompt is: “The 7 deadly sins. Greed, Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, Rage, Envy, Pride. Which applies to you? Without using the name of the sins, try to visualise the sins with imagery instead.

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Speak Easy is a monthly spoken word poetry show featuring local talents every first Tuesday of the month. The pilot episode introduces three published poets who are also spoken word performers. This month’s writing prompt is: There is a very strong relationship between Malaysians and food. Tell us how would you eat poetry.

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4:38 - Melizarani T Selva - Indiantity

12:24 - Alana Azlan - I’m in Here

19:58 - Sheena Baharudin - Merdeka

30:12 - Writing Prompt

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The Damansara Performing Arts Centre’s “Spectrum” music recital aims to highlight the beauty and relevance of Malaysia’s traditional music; as part of this, they are presenting a showcase of Sarawakian performing arts called “Kelunan”. The performance will explore the theme of love through multidisciplinary performances that draw on Sarawak’s traditional arts. We speak with the show’s producer, Juvita Tatan Wan of The Tuyang Initiative.

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Sheena Baharudin explores the world of spoken word poetry in the form of podcast series produced by Malaysian poets.

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A peribahasa-inspired title, Matahari Jangan Tidure, Nanti Hilang Belang; a post-apocalyptic setting; two characters; and, a story that is maybe Malaysian. We speak with writer/director Arief Hamizan about his latest play, which examines a “contemporary myth for urban millennials”.

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