Art is form of self expression that can be found in the most peculiar places it can not and will not be confined to a place, shape, media or ideology. It was during the summer of 2015 when I first came across Loyce Gayo performance of ‘How we forget’. I found myself lost - unable to formulate a train of thoughts ; I found myself feeling guilty as if I was the one who carved out her scars. You see, at that time I lived in Kuwait which is located in the middle east and I was able to connect with the injustice she spoke of.
If I’m being completely honest till this day I do not know why this performance rather than the poem speaks to me. The poet used her poem to talk about the horrific injustice African Americans had and still continue to endure. While performing her spoken words one could see how tender her wounds are. The poet Loyce Gayo talks about how easily we tend to forget about the racism that plagues this land of the free. All throughout the performance we see how this poem connects to her on a level that is beyond comprehension- a spiritual level.
As an African Immigrant I was able to identify with issues she spoke off, I was able to put myself in her shoes and my heart yearned for hers, for the future and for the past. Though both of us were never slaves we’re still till this day are trying to break free of the ideology that has been put in place ever since then. The emotion and passion with which she conveys all this is phenomenal.
Loyce Gayo toys with the idea of repetition in this poem. Which I believe helped make the poem more memorable as it aided in solidifying the ideas she was trying to convey. She was also a great performer as anyone watching would be able to feel the rawness of her emotions.
You may not understand why that performance spoke to you but I 100 percent understand why at all it would touch you. It probably gave an expression of some sort of feeling that you had but could not express and that she did it for you. I like how your honesty came in to play. It lets me know how you really feel.
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ReplyDeleteYour reaction demonstrates the idea that art is much more meaningful when we can relate to it somehow. You understood the struggle that was referred to in the performance, so it had a deeper meaning than just looking and sounding nice.
ReplyDeleteI actually had the chance to listen to the poem and it got me all emotional. The performance was amazing and I wouldn't mind listening to it all over again.
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ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you say you don't even know why you like this poem .It's seems as through you like it because you can truly connect with it. Well thought out passage .Maybe oh should post a link of the the video in order to help us understand.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, Soulafa. I wonder if the poem would have had the same effect if you'd only seen it written on a piece of paper. I get the sense that the performance aspect of it (the visual/audio) was just as important as the content.
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