Poetry is def

By Sally Pollak - Burlington Free Press

Philadelphia poet Black Ice writes: "I wanna raise poems like my kids. Keep them from jail bids, pessimism and negativity."

Black Ice performs this poem and others in "Def Poetry Jam," a Broadway hit coming Tuesday to Burlington. Many poems in this play seem to be raised like kids: They are loved, nurtured, coaxed, and cherished. In turn, as the poems come to life on stage, they are bold, strong, daring, inventive, funny and life-affirming.

"Def Poetry Jam" is the brainchild of impresario Russell Simmons, who helped bring hip-hop to the mainstream through his record label, Def Jam Records, and through Run-D.M.C., the group that features his brother. The play is an ensemble piece that brings together nine spoken-word artists. Their poetry is socially relevant, intelligent, poignant and in-your-face.

When it is performed live, by all accounts, it is nothing short of fantastic: high-energy, exuberant, original. New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley called the play "the most singular offering in mainstream New York theater" and said the poets "flaunt their words the way Fosse dancers flaunt their bodies, in muscle-flexing struts, slides and sashays."

Built around poetic themes, the play includes musical interludes and transitions performed by a DJ on stage. In the first segment, the poets introduce themselves, performing poems that tell something about themselves and what makes them tick. Next, they recite "outrageous poems," in the words of the director. There is a section of love poems; and one in which the poets speak about what inspires them as poets and activists.

Black Ice, who was born Lamar Manson, is a member of the nine-person, multi-cultural cast. He uses his poetry to express his social rage and to tell the truth of the inner-city experience, he says.

"Every time I write, I try to be as naked as possible with my feelings and my writing. There's no room to question whether I'm convicted about the things I say: God, or whatever the higher being is, he gave me a whole bunch of experiences because I have the strength to get through them and talk about it.

"Nothing more than the average inner-city cat, but most of them bury it. I'm the one who talks about what they bury."

Black Ice, 32, grew up in North Philadelphia, where he was raised to be a writer. His parents recognized his artistic side when he was young, and encouraged him to write. "They tortured me in the beginning," he says. "As a kid, writing was a chore more than a pleasure. They kept on grooming me and grooming me and as I got older, I loved it. It became my way to vent, my way to breathe."

These days, Black Ice vents on stages across the country, performing poems that he says he does raise like children -- his four children and the children of the city for whom he speaks.

"Russell Simmons is important because he's the cat who has the means and the heart to let us get on stage and say the things that we say," Black Ice said. "He gave spoken-word a new light, kicking off the new renaissance. But now it's important for poets to maintain the integrity. It's really left up to us."

"Def Poetry Jam" appears 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Flynn Center in Burlington. Tickets cost $38 and less. Not recommended for children under 12. 863-5966 or www.flynntix.org.


The TV Connection - By Sally Pollak
Free Press Staff Writer

American youth culture has been influenced for two decades by Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records. A lesser-known part of the equation is "Def Poetry Jam" director Stan Lathan.

Lathan, a veteran TV director whose credits include "Hill Street Blues," "Miami Vice" and "Sesame Street," joined Simmons to create the hit HBO show "Def Comedy Jam," and then decided to focus on another form of stand-up, club-style entertainment: spoken-word artists.

"The thing that I discovered when I went to check it out was there's a new energy and it's very multi-cultural," Lathan said by phone from his office in L.A. "The young poets of the hip-hop generation decided to write and speak on issues beyond what the rappers do."

Three years ago, Lathan and Simmons created the HBO show, "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry," and went on to create their eventual Broadway hit, which won a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.

"This is pure and uncensored," said Lathan. "I'm thrilled to be doing the show."