There are ten days left to submit to the Louder Than dA Bomb submission folder. With that being said, I'm putting out an article that offers some tips and quick solutions to problems a poet may be facing when writing their slam poem. But very quickly, I would like to address a stigma surrounding submitting "great" work to contests.

I'll keep this brief. The world is not set to your pace. Or anyone else's really. Everybody's just trying to keep up. This line of thinking can't be taken to the publishing industry (for those that would like to publish) or anywhere else for that matter. Applying the thought to your art or literature that unless it was created under certain circumstances is to not take your work seriously.

If you don't believe you can write and read a slam poem in ten days, I'm here to tell you different and to tell you the ins and outs of slam.




Slam poetry works the way it does because of a few key elements, all of which the poet must infuse with energy.


The topic you choose to write about and perform should be one you are familiar with and feel strongly about. The more knowledge you have of the topic the more material you will have to work with. A good topic isn't about choosing something popular, but choosing what is on your mind that makes you feel something, whether that emotion is positive or negative. A slam poem with a good topic should be written plainly and clearly for the audience.


Passion is the driving force behind slam poetry. You must tell us the why's of why this subject is important to you and make other subjects appear minuscule in comparison, and by doing so, convey significance of the subject to others. Passion is implored in every part of the performance: gestures, tone, references, rhythm, phrases, word-play, your breathing, other vocalizations, and even the speed and acceleration of how you recite a poem. Passion radiates from a poet who feels strongly about their subject in their brittle-battered bones.


Unlike poetry for the page, slam poems mostly rely on being either of three things or a combination of any of the above.

A metaphorical slam poem usually works by representing the poet's ideology through a variety of techniques, such as a scene, objects, actions or series of images, like in Buddy Wakefield's slam poem, Human The Death Dance. Slam poems can also consist of one metaphor entirely, and in my experience work by either flipping the audience's expectation of the image or scene as a positive/negative image to the opposite or by stating the meaning behind the imagery and providing insight and shocking emotion into the listener.

A narrative slam poem is as straightforward as the name of the type of poem implies; it tells a story and the story is what drives the poem through tension and climax. Some people who write prose use this avenue to tackle subjects for slam poetry as they are more accustomed to it. The narrative slam poem is usually used for topics that are shocking, revealing, such as Nova Venerable's Apartment on Austin Street. The audience often trusts the writer that this narrative experience is a true, personal account when written in first person and is not when written in other point-of-views (you may want to keep that in mind for possible ideas).

A stated slam poem consists mainly of straightforward statements directed to the audience, such as Taylor Mali's famed What Teachers Make, and is a type of slam poem that relies on each sentence holding up the next, building on each other with tension and a succession of topics. Slam poems such as these are written a lot because they make use of repetition oftenly, and repetition is a powerful motivator to an audience when used properly and engagingly. This makes it more challenging to write such a poem that stands out among the many that have been written before, but they have also proven very successful throughout the years.


Repetition is essential to any type of poetry, whether the reader is aware of it or not. Stretch the boundaries of repetition and use it in various ways or turn it on its head and write something unexpected with what is assumed to be repeated. Finding the right words to repeat without having redundant concepts will further highlight the content of your poem.


Upon finishing a draft for your poem, you should now read it aloud to yourself a few times, definitely more than once, and put yourself in the audience and not as the reader. If you find awkward phrasing or words that don't connect with what you want to say or don't match how you want to perform it, then it's time to isolate those areas of the poem and begin revising.

One thing to take a look at is to see what words you are using and if they can be replaced with more 'hard-hitting' terms, both vocally and emotionally. Remember to keep your poetic devices at the ready: allusions, rhyme, assonance and consonance for starters. Then repeat.



You do not have to make a "great" piece of writing to compete in a contest. Though it is about putting your best foot forward, you do have to use your other foot sometimes. There is no shame in doing so.

Nic.

I'm not really an organized person. Yeah, sure, I like to TRY to be one, but most of my attempts to clean house don't stick. The one exception, however, is in my online life. I keep everything to do with the computer tabbed and organized and that includes my dA life.  

I posted a poll asking visitors what their inbox looked like on a typical day. As of this writing, of the 52 responses, 35 have full inboxes – that is, somewhere between 200 and up to (or over) 1000 messages to sort through. So about 70% of the voters have quite a lot to page over.

 

I hear horror stories quite frequently from deviants who are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things passing through their inbox. My personal inbox rarely reaches three digit numbers, and the few times it has, it's always been because something of mine has made the footer. While I can't promise that my personal methods will work for everyone, it never hurts to share a few tips I'll be concentrating primarily on the literature community as A) that's where I spend most of my time, and B) because literature requires a higher investment of time to appreciate, the problem of managing everything is exacerbated. That's not to say these tips can't be applied to other mediums, but reading is an investment of your time on a scale that visual art simply can't hope to match – I only have to look at an image for three seconds before deciding if I like it or not. I don't keep my eye on very many visually-oriented deviants or groups; I'm practically tripping over great visual art on this site. And make no mistake; managing your inbox IS about managing your time. You get it in order, and I CAN promise that you'll find more time to read, write, comment, and critique

 

Deviations

 

From my (admittedly not-very-academic-or-thorough) research, deviations compose the bulk of the messages people receive, so we'll spend the most time here. Deviation stacks pile up in one of two ways; by watching individual deviants, or by watching groups.

 

Be Picky

 

I watch very few individuals. There aren't many writers whose work I almost always enjoy, for whatever reasons. But I know many deviants have a habit of watching any artist who once made something they faved. This isn't the best way to go about it. A dude on Twitter may make one or two clever tweets, but that doesn't mean I want his 10,000 un-clever tweets clogging up my dashboard.

 

In dA terms, pretend you have two writers with 100 deviations each. Writer A has written one or two pieces you really liked; Writer B, well, you've loved pretty much everything they've ever put on paper. 85% of their deviations are in your faves. You're getting a much higher return investment from Writer B than Writer A. In the long run, it's easier to meander over to Writer A's profile on occasion and see what's been going on lately than it is to let him or her continue adding stress to your inbox.

 

When it comes to watching individuals, pickiness is a virtue. It's the difference between buying an entire collection of books from an author you adore, and picking up only the good ones from an author who is hit-and-miss for your tastes.

 

Be Selective

 

I approach the Group system in a similar fashion. I don't think it's any secret that there are multiple groups with the exact same functions, be it exposure, critique, specialization, whatever. Not to mention the many inactive or even abandoned Groups out there. I like to take Groups on trial runs as it were – I usually go through about every six months and decide do I still want to be a part of this Group? Am I getting anything out of it? Is anyone else getting something out of my presence there? If the answer is usually "no," I drop it.

 

Personally, I find it much easier to watch Groups than individuals. Most active writers submit to Groups anyway, so their work is going to find its way to your inbox without you ever having to click the Watch button on their profile. Avoiding the same submissions multiple times is excellent streamlining. The author often does the work for you; the stuff they want critique on goes to critique-oriented groups. The stuff they think is good is going to exposure or specialization groups. Right away, you have an idea of what pieces you're most likely going to enjoy without having to read everything in their gallery.

 

My advice when it comes to Groups is to do a little research before you join. Is the Group you're about to join even active? You can usually guess by the date on the latest wallpost, or by when the last journal was submitted. If it was over a year ago, it's probably a safe bet that no one is really running the place anymore. I also find that Groups with some sort of submission policy – that is, every submission is NOT auto-accepted – are generally better about not letting their members get swamped with submissions.

 

Don't be Afraid to Delete

 

I know many deviants let stories pile up in their inbox until they have some spare time to read. While that's one strategy, I don't think it's particularly effective, especially if your Watchlist is quite long.

 

The thing about the Internet is… it's forever. It's always going to be there – it doesn't necessarily have to be in your inbox Submissions to Groups can always be found in the Group galleries. Same for individual submissions. Generally speaking, if the thumb or Artist Comments don't catch my attention, I hit the X.

 

There's also a second strategy you can play into here; if you don't already use Folders in your Favorites, you should really consider it! Make a "To Be Read" folder and stop letting it pile up in your inbox. It's MUCH easier to keep track of everything you want to read that way, and it won't get in the way of the constant stream of new stuff. And once you've read it, you can just remove it from that folder and not have to worry about it anymore.

 

Journals, Bulletins, and News

 

I think these things are much easier to manage than deviations are. The individuals I Watch are primarily friends, so I usually do make an effort to read their Journals. Whether I comment or not is a different story – if I don't have anything to say, there's no reason to force myself to say something. Delete. Perhaps I've been tagged in a meme; okay, I'll do that. Save it until my next update.

 

News and bulletins are even simpler; if it doesn't apply to me, delete it. Most official dA announcements don't have anything interesting to say, so I rarely keep them. I keep contest announcements only if I plan to participate. And check this – you can pick and choose what to watch from an artist or Group. There are lots of Groups that I've turned off the deviations, but I keep an eye out for the community happenings reports. Same for artists – maybe they have really great deviations, but they're always updating their Journal with trivial reports like this is FaceBook. Pick and choose what you want to keep an eye on.

 

Notes

 

Again, folders are your friend here. Here's what my Notes section looks like right now:

 

 

At the moment, I have 16 folders. That number will go up depending on how many Saturday Spotlight interview articles I'm juggling at the time. I particularly dislike letting my Notes get messy because they're easily lost and, often, more important than the other types of messages I receive. Happily, I find them fairly easy to manage with the use of Folders

 

Notes are also one of those things I really hate to let pile up. The little yellow "unread" tag goes away even if you click on the Note by accident, so if I don't read it right away, I may not remember to do so later. I do my best to read an answer Notes ASAP.

 

Faves

 

This one will depend on whether you feel the need (like me) to thank people for the fave. If not, you should have no problem deleting these messages.

 

If so though, then it's tough because there aren't many ways to streamline this one. If one person has faved multiple things, that makes it easy; I just drop by their profile and thank them for the whole bundle of faves rather than each one individually. I also don't usually thank people for faves if they commented on the actual deviation. Other than that though, there aren't any tips on cutting this one down.

 

Administrating

 

I Admin for six groups (and even with that, my inbox still rarely hits 100 ). For the most part, my roles in each of those groups are clearly defined. Many of the notices I get from them don't apply to me at all; I only keep and answer the ones that require my input. It seems like an obvious thing, but knowing where you stand and what you have to offer goes a long way. I'd rather be a person that contributes one thing really well than half-assing ten things at once.

 

It's another obvious thing, but don't overload yourself. dA puts a cap on the number of Groups you can Admin for a reason; once you hit your limit, you can't contribute to any of them. Decide where your help is most needed, and what you can bring to the table. Weigh rather you're better suited to a small, close-knit group, or a large, all-inclusive one. Cutting down means you'll have more time to read later

 

TL;DR

 

Basically, my advice to deviants comes down to "be selective." Be picky. Be choosy. Delete frequently and save in alternative ways like folders. I am all about the folders Just don't feel like you have to read everything - you don't. You can't.

 

These are all just personal tips, but they work for me – as I'm writing this now, my inbox sits at four messages. I think the high point today was 23. I'm quite finicky about keeping my inbox pristine

If you have any other tips, fill up my inbox by commenting below!

One of the most essential things I've learned as a photographer is the importance of reaching out and valuing all of the people who make what I do possible.  All of the people I share the space with, my job with, the world with.   Reaching out and becoming a part of the world I am hired to photograph has often been the difference between getting the shot, staying safe, and progressing in my field and not.  



Every time you take out a camera you become the invader.  James Natchtwey once poignantly put it as:

"The act of being an outsider aiming a camera can be a violation of humanity. The only way I can justify my role is to have respect for the other person's predicament. The extent to which I do that is the extent to which I become accepted by the other, and to that extent I can accept myself."

In this case he was discussing the nature of photographing tragedy and war, but it's also true when we photograph anything, anyone, anywhere.   For me, I make a constant sincere effort to reach out to the people in my field from the ushers taking the tickets to the athletes and their families.

And here's why.

The building manager will be there for me when I need help setting up remote cameras on a catwalk, when the glass surrounding the ice needs a good scrub, or when I'm walking across the ice he'll send one of his boys out to take my hand and help me across.  The equipment manager will show me secrets about the building I work in, the history of it, that he would never bother telling a stranger.



(Not to mention at the end of the season, certain jerseys of certain players he knows I love make their way to my home where my cat promptly falls asleep in them.)



He'll let me into the locker room, on the ice, on the bench and provide incredible support when it comes to understanding the game and the players better.    The ushers and security guards protect me and my space.  The fans support me and my business.  The concessions guy keeps me hydrated and fed. The parking guy gets me through the traffic faster so I'm not late. The administrators are my employers. And the players?  Reaching out to them is the only way I could get  the very intimate shots I get throughout the season.  Earning their trust and deserving their trust is my goal every day. Our relationship is essential.

But the truth is all of those relationships above are essential and cultivating them is wise.  When I invade a fan's space because I need a better angle of the bench or a shootout, I'm always sure to buy them a beer afterward with my thanks, so the next time I need a shot they welcome me into their row. When the building staff washes my glass in the middle of a break, I thank them and take photographs for the office Christmas card for free.   The players know I'll send mom that picture of their goal, that I'll remember their birthdays, that I will worry about their injuries.

Reach out to everyone on the job.  Your driver, your host, your interpreter, your guide, your bodyguard, your subjects. You are never ever alone in your job.  Never go into the field, into another country, into another world without reaching out to the people around you.

 

To grow as photojournalists we must think about all of the people we rely on.  Not just our subjects, but everyone whose support we need to get the job done. Including our families, by the way (who might be a little sick that every vacation gets tied up with a major sports event opportunity).  


As photojournalists, how do you reach out to the people you share your world with? How has it helped you? What would you give as a tip to aspiring photographers trying to reach out?