What is Youth Speaks Hawaii?

Youth Speaks Hawaii is a poetry community that exposes teens to Spoken Word Poetry. We are a collective of teen and adult poets actively performing, presenting and teaching poetry in classrooms and community centers across the state. Our homebase is at ARTS at Mark’s and we are supported by The Hawaii Arts Alliance. Every week YSH’i hosts a writing workshop on Wednesdays at 4:30p; free and open to all writing styles and abilities. We have students from charter, public, and private schools come in from all over the island to write and share together. It really is an amazingly supportive group of poets, both the peers and the mentors, focused on the development of others while paralleled with self improvement. No one is forced to share but the desire builds independently and eventually.

Also at Mark’s, every 2nd Saturday of the month, at 3pm, YSH’i puts on a free, teen-driven and hosted show that includes a teen Slam, teen host, teen feature poet, and an open mic (old people allowed, if there is time). This show has blown up in the last few months. It has been really impressive what has grown from the efforts of the youth, along with the guidance of Travis T, Program Director, and what has been done with the time slot.

YSH has a variety of outreach programs to reach the needs of the schools of Hawai’i. We have poets who establish Residencies and have a long term series with classes. We also have a program where poets visit schools as substitute teachers and facillitate workshops similar to the model we use at the after school workshop. We also perform in a variety of venues, for every thing from a humanitarian cause to a positive-message party, where ever there is a stage and/or a mic.

Once a year we have a Slam Finals and teens compete to make the Youth Speaks Hawaii travel squad; the top 6 poets are selected and they spend the summer writing and performing poetry in preperation for Brave New Voices, a national poetry competition that happens in July. YSH has advanced to semis every year since 2006 and in 2008 and 2009 YSH’i was the back to back champions. The team representing Hawai’i has a well-earned reputation for innovative team pieces and clever, honest, and relevant writing.

How and why is it important for people especially the youth to be more involved in activism?

We work with Students and teens, these voices and minds are growing and developing, preparing them for their futures. Activism is nessacary for voices silenced by those empowered by status quo. If people do not speak up then only one voice is heard. The youth need to believe that their voices matter, what we do is help the students express their ideas and opinions through writing them down and preparing them to share those ideas. Not only is it empowering, it is also educational. We create dialoges that would otherwise be stifled or silenced. these students learn quickly that poets are accountable for their words and they build a responsibility and purpose to speak up and about things that matter to them. We activly prepare students with valuble skills in reading, writing, and oral communication; building a generation that thinks and speaks for itself. We foster a sustainable group of free-thinkers, many of which become involved in causes and groups they find important.

But activism with youth can take many different forms. Anything that fosters positive growth and indivisuality is a form of activism.Audience members can be activist. A coach can be an activist, a preacher, a big brother; whoever has the ability to reach people can be an activist, and the effect you can have on people is amazing. You have the opportunity to help people see things from another angle, but you have the responsibility to let them see it for themselves, you can’t force your beliefs upon people, even if you feel they are right.

What are some problems or issues you feel that needs to be tackled more here in Hawaii or globally. And why?

Education- Education Issues are complicated and there are no easy answers. Teachers need support; there is no other job with this much training, this much presentation time, meeting time, planning time, paper work and evaluations where there is not secretarial aide for the position. Class sizes are getting larger, teachers are too over-worked with class time to allow for proper lesson planning time.

Accountability needs to be established but standardized tests do not measure the important things. Arts and Activities are cut from budgets, followed closely by sports and for many students the classes that made school enjoyable are now missing, and so are a lot of those would be students, to find art classes on concrete and sports in back alley brawls.

Those in charge of public education funds need to believe that their vested interest spans beyond if their kid goes to public school. A well educated public allows for more civic interaction, financial efficacy, and a sustainable skills structure and hiring pool to allow wealth and harmony to perpetuate in a more vast section of society.

Public Transit- we clog ourselves up on the road. I don’t know is a steel on steel plan is the right one. We seem to be looking at mainland solutions to island problems. We need to consider resources we have. If you want people to take public transit, it needs to be cheap and reasonable. Workers should get discounted rates around the times and routs to and from work, there needs to be all night service. We have tons of charter bus buisnesses, allow them to use the routs and stops during non-peak times- it may curb drinking and driving. Stagger school and state jobs to reduce traffic. Steel on Steel just seems a noisy, impracticle, expensive project when we should be looking at better using the infrastructure and layout that currently exists.

Local Trade- We have become so dependent on the mainland and others for goods and an economy. We build on beautiful lands to accomidate tourism at the cost of aesthetics. Small businesses slowly die out to chain stores and less and less money stays in local pockets. We need to encourage local agriculture and crafts. We have such fertile lands and access to clean energy, it is sad to see missed oppritunities while millions of dollars are being spent on GMO foods in a place that can grow virually anything. We don’t even grow enough to accommodate a great cultural shift in our consuming as of now, so change doesn’t have to be drastic, but when you can, support local and small businesses… that includes poetry and the arts.

Civil Unions- To me, equality is not up for debate or popular vote. Calvin Say and Linda Lingle were just plain wrong to hold up this bill natural process.

Let me plug my projects for a second. A reprinting of my original chatbook is coming soon, as well as the corresponding CD, TRUE Confessions of a Compulsive LIAR. My new chatbook, The Poet’s Hypocritic Oaf is finishing up nicely and the plans for a CD are in the works. I am gathering a jam band together for more poetry and music collaborations, I like to call it Poesic. Updates available at poorwettree.com.

What are your thoughts on the Rise Up Hawaii Movement?

I think RUHM has done beautiful things getting artists involved in causes and movements that are important to be expressed. People like to have a good time, and if the excuse to have a night filled with fun, expression, and friendship, why not also support causes and groups that need help? I think for the most part people are good and people want to help, the hard part is finding small ways for people to contribute to get a greater goal. these events do that, entertainers and the entertained come together in celebration, and what ever the hard times we face, we can’t forget to celebrate.

What are some of the upcoming events Youth Speaks Hawaii will participate in?

We always have one or two things in the works. This month Tui Scanlan, Faith Pascua, and myself visited the Big Island. We got to participate in Honoka’a's Peace Day Parade and activities, as well as visit classrooms and I even got to perform for BJ Penn’s youth students, trying to build bridges with other programs in the community. We are doing a Youth Empowerment Forum at the Convention Center by the time this prints. We are always active, but many of our jobs are for closed or registered events to ensure safe learning environments for poets expressing themselves, so if you want a workshop for your group, let us know. Our Wednesday Writing Workshops at ARTS at Mark’s Garage are open for all youths, and adults connected to education and poetry. The 2nd Saturday Slam is open to the public and you will see the youth poetry community in full force. There are always new faces being welcomed in and the regular poets showcase their favorite hits and new material. Most poetry events around town has some sort of Youth Speaks representation and are always looking for new places to perform. There is a new slam starting at Hawaii Theatre, known as Hawaii Theatre Slam, next show is November 5th during First Friday’s art walk, and that has a wonderful group of poets putting on a slam as a collective effort.

If there is ever an event that poetry seems suiting for, ask organizers to get ahold of Youth Speaks Hawai’i. There are many active members who are able to share the spirit of Youth Speaks Hawai’i. We survive by living on the breath from Word of Mouth, so if there is a school or group that seems interested in poetry shows, showcases, presenters, or educators, please let us know.

Any questions about Youth Speaks Hawai’i, contact me at darron@youthspeakshawaii.org.