Caravan Slam Review for August

When I was told that Caravan Slam at Django Bar, Camelot Lounge, was coming up soon, I did not have to think twice. On the 4th of August, the first Thursday of the month, Kristy and I made our way from the Red Room office to the event. We were greeted at the door by the lovely MC Lou Steer, who is a pleasure to chat to. I graciously paid the entrance fee and proceeded to find a seat and wait for all the poets and audience to make their way to the event themselves and get settled in. As people started to arrive, I looked around the room I noticed the regulars of Caravan Slam who have previously performed their work. Lou introduced the rules of the slam and selected three judges to give a score for each poem performed. The Caravan Slam members always encourage the judges to mark kindly and fairly, as they do not want to discourage any poet who performs.
 
The sacrificial poet of the night, Tug Dumbly presented two original poems before the first ten out of twenty-one poets performed. Tug has a way with words that produces tears of laughter out of the audience members. His poems about bush poets and music was exceptional and left the whole crowd laughing. Needless to say, Tug set the scene for the night. 
 
The twenty-one Caravan Slam poets all took their rightful place on the stage. Lou announces that the poets who are performing should embrace the spotlight because that is where poets belong. They proceeded to give their opinions and views on life, love, friendship, parenthood, heartbreak, personal identity and a multitude of other perspectives. As always, the poets cause you to consider what they are saying with their carefully thought out words. The poets at Caravan Slam have an authentic way of expressing their messages through the right use of language. They are relatable as they comment on experiences felt by almost everyone.
 
The feature poet of the night was Gabrielle Jones who entered the stage charismatically. Gabrielle is a poet and a hip-hop artist. She engaged the crowd with raps and beatboxing, which was different from the spoken words given by the other poets. Gabrielle had the whole crowd silent as she spoke her truths and experiences. She also had the audience chanting with her, which strengthened her connection with the audience. An excerpt of her poem included the verse:
 
Poetry is a prism of enlightenment,
Not a prison to serve time and hide within.
It’s a feast,
Yes, a feast to be joining in.
All welcome to a table
Where truth is 5-star dining in.
 
At the end of the night, the scores were tallied and Elizabeth Routledge was revealed the winner. Elizabeth then stood before the audience for a second time and gave her winning poem. This was an excellent conclusion to the night and the event. Caravan Slam, I will be back for you next month to see what you produce next.

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