(Photo by Aimee Plante)For the first time in poetry slam history, the Valley’s arts district will be hustling and bustling with poets from around the world as people gather for the annual Individual World Poetry Slam competition. Come Oct. 8, Phoenix will host what determines the best poet of the English-speaking world.
Among these representatives will be ASU alumnus Myrlin Hepworth, who has explored poetry throughout his life. iWPS, however, will not be the poet’s first time in the spotlight.
“iWPS is the only national slam I’ve never been a part of,” Hepworth said. “I took a team from ASU to the Collegiate Unions Poetry Slam Invitational... and then I did Brave New Voices. I just slammed this one time because I knew that iWPS was going to be here, though I haven’t actually slammed since 2009.”
The talent necessary to easily become Phoenix's representative has been a process Hepworth has honed since his childhood.
“I always wrote, but it was kind of a secret thing,” Hepworth said. “It wasn’t cool back then, so I wasn’t out there with my work and I just wrote for fun. But when I was 19, I went to a poetry slam and saw these poets who inspired me and made me want to at least try it out.”
From there, Hepworth went on to study English at ASU and begin his own life as a professional artist through his co-founded organization Phonetic Spit, which serves community schools across the Valley and hosts poetry slams for teenagers.
“When I started doing poetry in Arizona, there was really no presence for the youth. It was just an adult scene,” Hepworth said. “(Poetry is really important) because it brings people into the room and it makes poetry exciting for people who otherwise may not enjoy it.”
Hepworth has already found his passion within the sphere of poetry by incorporating the art as part of his lifestyle.
“(Slam) personally gives me an opportunity to write and memorize more work,” Hepworth said.
“I write mostly concrete narrative work. Sometimes it’s expository and essay like, but I still pay attention to the sonic devices in the (spoken) narrative. I never compromise content for sound," he said. "I’m from an accredited school and then I’m from the unaccredited school of hip-hop and blues, but I think style is something for someone else to clarify.”
Hepworth’s style, though unlabeled, has certainly captured the attention of the Valley’s most adamant poetry fans. On Sept. 6, Hepworth participated in Phoenix’s finals for the opportunity to perform at iWPS, and, though matched with 12 other local poets, won the audience over with his socially conscious dialogue.
The human experience and the taboo issues which accompany it are what attract Hepworth because of the stories they reflect.
"I think the repression of those conversations is problematic," he said. "I think thats why those things attract me –– they’re hard to talk about. I think that the importance of art that is provocative is to generate discourse. Those people who are pursuing truth as objectively as they can will find it while those people who just want to claim a side are just going (to falter).”
Because of this focus on the ultimate truth, Hepworth’s priority does not lie in the prospect of winning the upcoming competition, but rather in participating and reigning in the experience.
“The only thing I know is that I’m gonna go up there and to my work,” Hepworth said. “Everything's a possibility. I can do very well or I can forget my poem. I’m gonna do my best to share my work and to share you have to advance, but I don’t know after that. I’m excited to see other people's work. I think that’s what I’m most excited about along with the conversations that will surround them. I’m excited to connect and learn from the experience.”
Those interested in experiencing the Oct. 9-11 iWPS with Hepworth can purchase season passes at iwps.poetryslam.com.
Reach the reporter at aplante@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @aimeenplante
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