“I want to jump into you and feel this life as you do Perhaps then I could give as you do perhaps then I could live as you do” Love is elastic(2015:1) When we want to express our deepest feelings, our fears, our concerns and our sense of nothingness, words sometimes seem inadequate. But in poetry, structures don’t matter, meaning does. We open our mouths and before we think of editing, or of what people will say, we speak. We slam! That is the essence of slam poetry, exemplified by the above poem written by the enigmatic Lebo Mashile. Slam poetry is a “spoken word “ poetry ,it is a competition where poets recite their work and are judged by the audience. In this type of poetry the artists talk about their personal experiences using rhythm and emotion to …show more content…
Lebo Mashile(2013) Lebo Mashile (2013) Performance Style “this my master’s language” Johan van Wyk, Pieter Conradie and Nik Constandaras (1988 : 669) With rhythm and rhetorical questions she plays around. Talking about current issues and stepping away using something irrelevant. With different tones she approaches you with getting the message across, her pitch is high when she wants to emphasize on a word or statement. Her body being the tool of her work she portrays every emotion while reciting her poetry and your eyes are glued to her, for her dress code is diverse and artistic. She owns the stage the viewer’s dwell under her presence, as she gives an experience of what she’s talking about. Lebo Mashile