Interview with Def Poet George Watsky lyrics

[Osel]
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.


[Osel]
How did you first become involved in oral poetry?

[Watsky]
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.

[Osel]
There's a fierce debate out there about the merits of performance-poetry. How would you characterize your own place in the world of poetry and literature?

[Watsky]
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 its 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 its simplest definition, performance poetry is an oral presentation of stylized text. Its 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.

[Osel]
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?

[Watsky]
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.