By Tanya Batson, Staff ReporterSTACEY ANN Chin describes the United States-based Slam competition as the 'contact sport' of poetry. On Sunday night, Jamaicans got an up close view of this type of poetry at the Livity Restaurant on Old Hope Road.
Along with Chin, Tanya Shirley, Dingo and Gina Rey Forest also performed. Chin performed for over 45 minutes and was later called back for an encore.
Before beginning, Chin, who is proudly all of 110 pounds despite her grandmother's efforts, pointed out to the audience that she would not be censored so they may want to apply cotton swabs to the ears of the young ones.
From the outset, her poetry would have affronted the conservative as she began with her sexuality. The proclaimed lesbian, who has been living in New York for several years, was back in Jamaica for a short stint, and is no less vocal about her lifestyle. Later on in the performance, she noted that she has to speak out for those of her friends who cannot do so. It is easy for her, she says, "I'll be leaving tomorrow (Monday)." As such her first poem proclaimed that she was gay, and unapologetically so.
In her poetry, she pointed out that as a 'libstick lesbian', meaning she can 'pass for straight', she avoids much of the bigotry that comes with the stigma of being gay, because it is not assumed on sight. Of course, once she opens her mouth and her poetry spills forth, there is no doubt as to her orientation. As her poetry also declares, she has often been questioned about her sexual orientation, and it has often been assumed that she chose to be gay.
Her first poem noted that 'dykery is a messy business', and this statement had nothing to do with the 'nastiness' that critics associate with same-sex intercourse. Instead, the 'messy business' which the poem dealt with is non-conformity, and the refusal to be silent about it, whether in sexual politics, sexuality or politics.
She noted that the problem was not that people had trouble with a loose woman, the problem is that "some people cannot handle a woman on the loose." With statements such as 'Christ was a Middle Eastern Rastaman who ate grapes in the company of prostitutes' her tongue and pen, if nothing else, were certainly on the loose. Even the recent Afghanistan/American situation did not escape.
At the end of the poem she asked if everybody was okay, especially the 'dreadlocks', "because ah know you all tender," she said with a laugh. There was however, no brandishing of 'fire sticks' in response.
Her sexuality was the issue in several of her poems. These spoke graphically about sex and the audience did not seem to mind since several of her declarations were often met with whoops and cheers. Before doing the first poem dealing with sex, she hesitated, noting that children were in the house. However, members of the audience encouraged her, stating, "Them gaawn man."
One poem that particularly found favour with the audience was Lesbian Chasing Straight. The poem was an essay, or rather a treatise, on how to convert straight women, or the 'bicurious'. Of course, one thing it certainly suggested was that lesbians and men chase women in much the same manner. This includes the 'line' delivery, one of which many men may take note of, as she told her prey, "I like the way you make that pink, push-up bra look intellectual."
However, lesbian love was not the only feature of her work. She also took the time to deal with her family. She then changed the slant of her poetry with My Grandmother. Before beginning the poem, Chin pointed out how special her grandmother is to her. This was clearly reflected in the poem, which created a picture of the woman being spoken about. The woman who is described as having '100 warts dancing circles under her eyes', is one whom many Jamaicans can identify with, whether because she is related to them or lives down the road from them. It was a story of a woman who misses her children, all of whom have left for colder shores but who has truly lived, with the joys and pains of life etched on her.
When she was brought back for her encore performance, she performed one poem outlining her feelings for her father, followed by another about her mother. She was abandoned by both parents, but the poems illustrate that her feelings about each are very different. Letter To My Father is filled with anger, as is illustrated by the fact that she prefaced it by stating, "This one is for my father, bastard that he is."
On the other hand, the poem dedicated to her mother, a woman she only recently met, was filled with a sense of rejection and pain but there was no anger. Instead, there is the sense that she had begun to identify with the woman and it spoke of forgiveness and understanding that much of the pain caused by her mother's desertion made her who she is. The line, 'If we had met some other place, we might have recognised each other' clearly stated this.
Her relationship with Jamaica also came into focus. She introduced this theme with Jamaica, a poem filled with Jamaican paradoxes, which she dedicated to Elaine Wint-Leslie. However, she told the audience that they should not use the dedication to assume that Wint-Leslie was gay. "She's straight" Chin asserted. She also spoke of how much she missed the country she had left behind especially when she was in a remote part of the United States 'teaching little white girls'.
One of her pieces which could not be categorised dealt with many of the things she believed. It stated that until she could believe in the big things, such as God, she would continue to believe in small things. These small things had the audience laughing, clapping and often agreeing. They included the belief that St. Nicholas is a 'holiday transvestite', that Ernie and Bert are straight and are simply waiting for the right girl to come along and that Pinky and the Brain are revolutionaries who try to change the world every night.
Throughout her performance, she often abandoned the microphone and came down into the audience in a full-bodied, passionate performance. The loud applause she received exclaimed that gay or straight, the audience loved her.
