Never had I known what
slam was all about untill I listened to
Grand Corps Malade,for the first time and that was long ago. And still then ,the gap between his expression and the creative processes leading to the verbal expression of
SLAM was very big ans strange. Yet, my experience of the use of words in the form of poetry has always been present. My encounter with
Lydol dolly dollyahstar during the science slam in 2015 at the
Goethe Institute Kamerun in Yaounde provided me with a new interaction, encounter with
words and how they could be used to vehicle meaning and knowlegde and the relationship people could have with them.I should admit it was a fantastic experience where I learned a lot, albeit my lack of experience in slamming.
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| Science Slam 2015 Photo Courtsey Goethe Institute Kamerun |
Untill then, SLAM was still quite mysterious untill I participated in an international workshop on slam organised by Lydol from the
29th to the 30th of April at FIAA in Yaounde. I had the joy not only to listen and see her teach a few participants her experience of slamming, transmit her passion for it but also truelly getting exposed to her personal creative process in situ which constantly feed itself from her womanlingness, context and her experience. In fact, she performed at several occassions during training and during the restitution phase of the workshop titled :
Style haut
à stylo where the trained participants now had to perfom, slam.
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| An encounter with words and their uttering photo Didier De Masso |
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| Lydol slamming bare-feeted during the restitution part of the workshop photo Didier De Masso |
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| Seybe from Chad , one of the several international participants at the workshop Slamming Photo Didier De Masso |
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As it rained during the evening of the 30th of April, each slammer brought a unique touch to the workshop exposing the intimate nature that words have with us. In the crowd , I looked at each particpant performing with total bliss.I got attuned to and drifted by the stream of their consciousness. As they uttered slowly each word that seemed to be choosen to reveal a specific feeling or thought I got IN LOVE WITH SLAM. Each text constructed or not by the slammers during their performance was in itself a unique opportunity for the slammers themselves and the public to get closer. For me it was an opportunity to undertand words.Just words and what they mean permeated FIAA till I left happy and covered by the coldness of a unique Sunday marking the end of April : Joy, might, fear, thrill, desire, passion, courage, humanlingness, love , little doll, Lydol..
