The National Grand Slam 2024 is set to kick off with its 1st Prelims on Saturday, June 29th, 2024, at 5:00 PM. This premier event, brought to you by Ehalakasa in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, will be held at the Center for National Culture (CNC) in Koforidua. With free entry, it promises to be an evening of vibrant poetry and spoken word performances.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, June 29th, 2024
Time: 5:00 PM
Location: Center for National Culture (CNC), Koforidua
Entry: Free
SLAMMERS
About Ehalakasa:
Ehalakasa, known for its slogan "It lives in us!", is a prominent platform dedicated to nurturing and showcasing poetry and spoken word talent in Ghana. The organization is celebrated for creating spaces where artists can freely express their creativity and connect with audiences on a profound level.
Reasons to Attend:
Experience Top Talent: The 1st Prelims of the National Grand Slam 2024 will feature outstanding poets and spoken word artists, presenting powerful performances that highlight their unique voices and perspectives.
Cultural Immersion: Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of Ghanaian culture through the art of spoken word and poetry.
Community Engagement: This event offers a chance to meet fellow literature enthusiasts, artists, and supporters of the arts, fostering a sense of community and collaboration.
Support the Arts: By attending the event, you contribute to the promotion and sustainability of the local arts scene, helping to nurture and celebrate homegrown talent.
Tips for Attendees:
Arrive Early: To secure a good seat and ensure you don't miss any part of the event, plan to arrive early as seating is first-come, first-served.
Stay Connected: Follow Ehalakasa on social media for event updates, performer highlights, and engaging content. Use the event hashtag #EhalakasaGrandSlam2024 to share your experience and connect with other attendees.
Invite Others: Share the event with friends and family to enjoy a night of inspiring performances together. The more, the merrier!
Contact Information:
For additional information and support, please contact 020 5043 890.
By Crystal Kwadwa Tettey and Yibor Kojo Yibor (Sir Black)
Accra came alive in the early 2000s with the dawn of the EhaLaKasa movement. Artists and art lovers were invited to relish poetry in oratorial and performance mode à la ghanéenne. Eha means ‘song’ in Ewe. La means ‘sing’ in Ga. Kasa means ‘talk’ in Twi. EhaLaKasa thus represents the intersection of spoken word (poetry) and music. EhaLaKasa is straight talk and street philosophy. We do not say poetry; we say EhaLaKasa.
Nowadays EhaLaKasa has slams, concerts, collaborations, and workshops running throughout Ghana. It is also represented at events worldwide all year long. The movement’s anthologies and publications feature emerging and established Ghanaian poets; EhaLaKasa events and publications are regularly integrated into the curricula and programming of schools in Ghana and beyond.
Spoken word poetry, also referred to as performance poetry, has always been an advocacy mouthpiece. Griots and linguists in many West African communities are repositories of ancient wisdom and, thus, regarded as oracles for educational, spiritual, and political advancement. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States was heavily influenced by spoken word poetry. Poets-turned-politicians such as Léopold Senghor has been pivotal in steering black consciousness worldwide.
Today is the 21st day of the 3rd month of the 2023rd year Anno Domini (AD). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates poets and poetry every year on this day. This year AD is also significant on the Accra calendar as the city is named 2023 World Book Capital (WBC) by UNESCO.
The Greenwich Meridian—a geographical reference line that passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, and a key marker of the time measurement standard to which most of the planet pledges allegiance—passes through Tema, a city located 25 kilometers east of Accra. The equator is directly beneath this line. Tema, Ghana’s largest seaport, may be considered the center of the world. This center could be the world’s capital.
The youth of the world’s center are bleeding. There is a scarcity of capital:
Accra is depleting our
financial capital
and robbing us
of
emotional and mental capital
Is the microphone the ●Show-Case● in this whirlwind that propels us into the minds of stakeholders, state institutions, and gatekeepers? Will truth to power be the bubble of redemption required to surmount a time of national and global upheaval? Could there be capital in Accra to lead the world out of despair while being a capital that shows no Show-Case?
In the poet resides the potential for capital. The poet is capital. Poetry is of capital importance
in the capital.
Over the years, poets and spoken word artistes across the length and breadth of the country battled it all out for the biggest title on the poetry landscape; “The National Slam Champion”. The search for the 2022 slam champion began in June. There were three(3) preliminary stages and at each stage the top 3 qualified to the final stage. Thirty-six (36) spoken-word artistes/ poets took part in this year’s championship. The roadmap to the finals had some special features to it. The Third preliminary was a double contest because the winner did not only qualify to the grand slam, but also qualified to represent Ghana at the next FESPACO Gold Slam which will take place in February, 2023 at Ouagadougou – Burkina Faso. Jewel King-Speaks emerged winner, making him the country’s representative at the FESPACO Gold Slam. At the end of all three preliminary battles, Faiba, Chessed, Afi, Jewel king-speaks,
Nana Kuffour, Twita-lit , Baby Poet, Briana and Wiseborn qualified to the finals which took place on 30th December 2022 at the Silverbird Cinemas in Accra.
This year’s National Slam Championship finale was intriguing and highly competitive, as each slammer brought their A-game. Big Names in the Ghanaian creative Arts industry such as Martin Egblewogbe (the first person to win a Slam in Ghana), Apiorkor Ashong-Abbey, Nana Asaase, Hondred Percent, Vitus Zulee, amongst others came in to witness history as it was being brewed.
It was a tough word war with all standard slam rules in place; 3 minutes per performance, original written pieces and no use of props.
Slammers went neck to neck with their performances, each showing their poetic prowess but at the end of the day 22 year old Twita-Lit also know as Theresa Kuffour, emerged winner of Ehalakasa National Slam Championship, 2022. She took home a trophy and a ticket to represent Ghana at the next Africa Cup of Poetry Slam in Bamako, Mali and later to the World Poetry Slam Championship in Brazil.
Jewel-King Speaks came in second, trailing behind Twita-lit with just a point and Afi and Nana Kuffuor came in third place.
It was an amazing sight to behold and it’s much evident that there is a bright future for spoken word poetry slam in Ghana.
Don’t squeeze too tight
ooohhh this boy
Agyeeeiiiiii! Waka mi
Akua always sleeps with it in her mouth
From the North to the East to the west to the South
Little baby, where else could you find better food
Than from the nectar those two round balls brought
You can’t deny that at one point in your life you needed it
You needed it so bad, you cried and wailed for it
Begged and screamed for it
Wouldn’t stop crying until your lips latched onto it
The joy those two round balls brought
You still can’t forget about it
So even after 20 years, you still want more of it
To play with, suck, to caress, to love
Once they’re in your hands, you just can’t get enough of it
The joy those two round balls bring
Now you have them
And though you may not want them in your mouth any more
You’re dying for someone else to taste them
Or probably you’ve already gotten a sucker
Someone who knows how to work’em for your back to ache in pleasure
Oh what joy those two round balls bring
Source of food
source of pleasure
Something to love
Something to treasure
Good news is it doesn’t come in ones but it comes in twos
Who can truly say they never loved boobs
Matters of the breast are not gender biased
As we’re trying to fight breast cancer,let’s not be quiet
Spread awareness with utmost importance, don’t be defiant
Male and female
Young and old
Rich and poor
Let’s stand abreast as we fight against breast cancer
Let’s not forget that All Breasts Matters
With the aim of bringing together young people and adults from different backgrounds and styles such as poets, writers, musicians, rappers, journalists and students, in recitals that have the active participation of the public, choosing the best performance and presented text.
The Grand Final of the 4th edition of Moz Slam – Batalha de Poesia Falada takes place on October 22, at 2 pm, at Café das Letras (Association of Mozambican Writers).
Twelve (12) finalist poets, selected in the four qualifiers that took place in June, July, August and September, will compete for the first three places of the Moz Slam Grand Final and, as a prize, will have the opportunity to represent Mozambique abroad (championships festivals and poetry festivals).
Throughout the event there will be activities such as book fairs, poetry recitals (open mic), exhibition of services and products related to literature, and the expected Poetry Slam moment, where the following finalists will compete for the first three places:
Rappers Iveth and Azagaia are the guest artists for the jury.
We will also have the artistic performance of the poets Gonçalves Gonçalo | Ivandro Sigaval | Ema de Jesus | Denise Fazenda, all finalists and the first two winners of past editions.
Dj AD will provide us with moments of music and Matilde Chabana will be the master of ceremonies for this magnificent event.
Moz Slam is a spoken poetry contest based on several rules that involve the performance and original poetry of its participants, a time limited to three (3) minutes for their presentations
I have completely lost everything
Lost everyone
I can’t even tell which is my tears of joy and my pain
And I feel each day like I want something done badly
Like trying to figure out something I don’t even know
I just don’t know what I want
If to be what they want
Or just be the always broken indecisive me…
I know I look really beautiful in makeup and that’s too fake.
I know,
But have you ever seen my eyes without makeup or lenses?
Do you know how many mascaras I buy in a week after coming from washrooms?
Do you have any idea how I struggle to be in my senses?
I smile too much cos it feels like a mask
And when I’m all alone in my room at night, and that heavy mask is off,
my water breaks…
Tears flow on default
If my pain were a school
I swear I’d be a school president and awarded the most punctual
Cos my emotions are always active
I’m not too proud
I just don’t know what I do
I hate to admit that I don’t know who I am
I’m either facing the remix from home
Or cracking up on my life
My head is weighing
My heart is breaking
Pleasant memories fading
