Watsky, Whenigetfree - Interview with Def Poet George Watsky lyrics

Watsky’s spoken performances are disarming
Even for a semi-cynical onlooker like myself
His delivery is sincere, humorous, message
Oriented but not preachy
And display just the right amount of shine

Watsky, who was born and raised
In San Francisco but is now based in Boston
Attends Emerson College, a school devoted
Exclusively to the study of communication
And performing arts according
To Watsky’s website, he aims
To "cross-pollinate the stage
Screen and stereo with work that speaks
To both the humor and
Frustrations of modern life" When I
Asked him about his work
He replied "I've tried to improve
My craft so I can
Be as good a funny white kid as I can"

Undisputed Backtalk Champion, Watsky’s debut
Poetry collection and CD
Was released in 2006 to critical acclaim
He’s been featured on Russell Simmons
Presents Def Poetry and preformed at the
NAACP Image Awards in honor
Of Russell Simmons’ lifetime
Achievement award in
2006 Watsky won the Youth
Speaks Grand Slam and the Brave
New Voices International Poetry Slam

Recently I conversed with Watsky about
His rapidly expanding career as
A performance artist, the ups and
Downs of spoken-word poetry
And surviving as an artist
In the modern world

How did you first become
Involved in oral poetry?

I had a great English teacher named
Steve Morris my Freshman year
Of high school i was a
Handful in the classroom, and he
Suggested I channel some of my energy
By checking out an after
School writing program called Youth Speaks
I started attending workshops
Eventually competing in the
San Francisco youth
Poetry slam when I was sixteen i
Went back year after year
Then took time off from school to work
With the organization post graduation most
Of the opportunities I've gotten since then
Are a direct or indirect result
Of my participation and success with Youth
Speaks and Brave New Voices
The national teen poetry slam

There's a fierce debate out there about
The merit's of performance-poetry how would
You characterize your own place in the
World of poetry and literature?

My own place in the world of poetry
And literature, as an individual artist
Is very small although I've spent a good
Deal of energy working on theater and music
My most visible work to this point has
Been in performance poetry
And I do consider myself a part
Of the spoken word community
Performance poetry has been catching
Some of it's
Most widely distributed negative
Press recently - last month a front page New
York Times Books article asked, "Is
Slam Poetry Going Soft?" As with any
Art form that attracts increased exposure
The risk of homogenization and
Derivative work increases
But at the same time
The number of brilliant minds who
Stumble across this medium as
A possible outlet for their voices
Rises as well in it's simplest definition
Performance poetry is an oral
Presentation of stylized
Text it's possibilities are as broad as
All human voice and experience and when
Mainstream America sees spoken word that
Relies on genre convention
And personal tragedy
In place of creativity and craft
The response
Is understandably negative there is
Bad standup comedy
Music, and visual art as well
But the masters of
The form can move, delight, and inspire
Us all poets are indebted to, but not
Bound by, the artists who came first i
Am not excused from similar criticism
And I am constantly trying to assess how
Much I am borrowing
And if it is too much as
Artists, it is our responsibility
To recognize and
Root our clichés in our own work
So that we can present material
That is interesting and exciting

There are innumerable spoken-word poets yet
Your work has garnered some
Very real attention you've performed
At the NAACP Image
Awards for Russell Simmons, won
Several performance-poetry titles, and have
Been the recipient of much
Critical praise so
What sets your work apart from the crowd? Why
Aren't you an unknown like
Nearly everyone else?

I've had the good fortune of
Being surrounded by wonderful
Creative writers from an early age
Growing up in the middle
Of San Francisco I've had access
To free writing workshops
(Youth Speaks) , inspiring mentors
And supportive audiences so
I've been very lucky in
My learning environment
And I have tried to take
Full advantage of all these opportunities
I write every day, i
Say yes to every gig that makes sense for me
And I try to stay critical
Of areas in which I
Can improve my work i also know that my skin
Color and privilege have given me a leg up in
Obvious and indirect ways early
Attempts to write poems
About struggles that were not my own
Fell flat because I had
No honest context from which to
Approach them i was
Forced to write poems on quirky
Subjects because they were what
Worked for me the new poems I started writing
Took off because I was now reflecting myself
More honestly audiences find
Variety refreshing
And I think I got some opportunities
Because I was a funny white
Kid in shows where
That was the minority and given who I am
I've tried to improve my craft so I can be
As good a funny white kid as I can

I asked Slam Champion Anis Mojgani why
There are so many "poets" and
He basically told me that pretending to
Be a poet is easy
Saying "most anyone can say they are
A poet and don’t have
To back anything up with actual
Poetry" What's your take?

Well, I don't know the
Context of Anis's quote, but he's pretty
Much the man i interpreted your
Question a bit differently
But I can't say I disagree with him

I think there are a lot of people who call
Themselves poets, because, well, once
You write a poem
You are by definition a poet I
Don't think anyone can set a
Subjective bar at which point we cross
Into some elite fraternity of
Writers writing a poem is
Empowering by writing
We give credence to our own experience we
Value our own thoughts and why
Not? I don't see anything wrong
With that it's a crowded
World all of us are trying to be heard
But, I don't think my resume
Makes my thoughts purer poetry
Than a fifteen year old Nebraskan picking up
The pen for the first time
Just like I don't think the
Weight of English history
Makes William Blake any more a poet than
Me he may well have mastered his form more
Completely by all reasonable accounts he may
Be better than I am
But, I've felt just as much a poet since my
Freshman year of high school
Refusing the designation of
"poet" to some strikes me as elitist
And this work is so
Subjective, I'm inclined to say that
Once someone attempts the work
They've earned the title

What does a successful career in spoken-word
Slam poetry look like? You have
To branch out to survive

I think the answer to this is different for
Everyone i have another year of college
And my definition of
"survival" is much different than an
Artist living check to
Check off gigs my privilege gives me options
And I am grateful to
Have supportive parents who
Are excited about my interest in the
Arts i want to branch
Out because my passions extend beyond
Three minute poems with no
Props there are poets who perfect this
Craft and are not interested
In other forms - I respect
That commitment to spoken-word
And it is enough to inspire
Some forever most poets
I've met have an interest in other forms
(even visual arts) because they're creative
Curious folks who like making cool shit

On a practical level
Very few poets can cobble
Together an income off of
Poetry touring alone
Although there are some
I think it would be safe to say that even
For those lucky few, this
Income is never steady, and they ride
The tides of showcase selections
And economic climate
Just like folks with nine to fives
We have to hustle our wares
To survive, but the poets I've
Met who are most grounded
Successful and beloved, branch out
Because they have big
Interesting ideas that cannot
Always be housed in a slam poetry shell

What other art forms are you interested in?

The arts I'm really interested in
Exploring right now are
Poetry, music, theater and screenwriting
So maybe I'm unfocused, but
I'll never be bored i study
Dramatic writing and acting
At college i will always
Continue to write poetry
But my dream is to be
Fluent in several crafts

One of the reasons your poetry caught my
Eye was because it was stylistically unlike
Most of the other work I’d heard is
It just my imagination or do
The bulk of performance poets
Approach the delivery
Of their work in more or
Less the same manner and isn’t that
A problem for the art form?

It is a problem when everyone sounds
Like everyone else i can't
Say that the bulk of poets
Suffer from homogenized style
But it becomes more of a problem
When everyone has the same influences
On the internet and national television i am
Guilty of absorbing others'
Techniques as well, but I hope
My voice has emerged as more my own over
The time I've been
Writing practically speaking
It's boring to go to a show when you
Know what to expect and there is no
Variety i think I'm like most people in
Craving surprises and different
Ways of thinking

What can we expect to see
From you in the next
Few years? Anything coming down the
Pipe at the moment?

I have a solo theater show
That Speakeasy Stage in
Boston is presenting in December
It incorporates some of
My poetry and other new work
I also just completed
A music album and am releasing it in
A couple months it features
Collaborations with Rafael
Casal and Dahlak from Def Poetry
Gift of Gab from
Blackalicious, and some other really
Talented artists i always
Have new poems and plays in the works
But those are the next
Projects on the horizon

We've all got them what's your problem?

I don't think I have one
Problem that trumps all others
I am certainly not perfect i have a tendency
To lose myself in projects and
Fail to fully appreciate
The present moment when I
Remember to check in
I am at my happiest and most
Grounded i can be overly self-critical
And can beat myself up over work
With which I was unhappy i am the artist I
Want to be when I create, let go
And enjoy the process for it's own sake