By Abby Claridge.
‘This Australian air is polluted with choking from our own
depression, and if we don’t fight for our rights it’s like mixing
hemimorphite and pegmatite, so that you can think as fast as the
speed of light.
But if you’re not speaking your own sight, even though you might
despite the fright to be polite and rewrite how we should reunite we
may as well do a prebiscite for what we should keep celebrating how
the blacks were killed by the whites.’—Australian Air
Were it not for the youth in Solli Raphael’s strong voice, you could mistake his poetry for that of an adult. While thirteen-year olds are known for asserting the important of their voice, Solli’s focus on environmental activism is anything but ordinary.
When visiting his website, the third line of his Home page reads ‘Age is No Barrier’. And for Solli, that truly is the case. Having already toured for his spoken word poems, performed at the Sydney TedX event and published his first book of poems, he is proving that his talent outshines ageism.
I was lucky enough to interview Solli for the journals and am thrilled to share his replies below!
What is your favourite thing about poetry?
I love how poetry is never ending, there is always more to learn and more to write about. Being able to express my thoughts and opinions about the world around us at the same time as slamming it out is a lot of fun.
How would you describe ‘slam poetry’ to someone who’s never heard of it before?
Slam poetry is poetry with a hip hop and rap-style beat. The key to a great slam poem is being able to keep the reader or the audience’s attention throughout the entire poem and that’s basically how slam poetry has become the entertainment form of poetry. Poetry has mainly been in written form since storytelling began, but when the first poetry slam started up in the 1980’s, poets have been eagerly trying to capture the audience’s attention which was through hand and facial expressions, slow and fast stanzas and emotion with powerful topics – and all of these elements has revolutionised to become what slam poetry is known as today.
What do you think is the difference between ‘slam poetry’ and ‘spoken work poetry’?
Slam poetry is rhythmic poetry that can be like rap where spoken word poetry is commonly spoken and doesn’t tend to rhyme, or often has depth, but not the rhythmical tone of a slam poem. Slam poetry is very metaphorical and offers a diverse range of topics from the fun and light-hearted to the serious aspects of one’s life or opinions, whereas I think spoken word poets usually write / recite tactfully about very emotional and powerful topics – although I have watched many spoken word performances online, I don’t feel that I am expert of spoken word as I have only been to slam poetry events.
Just a few months ago, you performed at the TEDXSydney event. How did you decide on the piece you ended up performing?
My slam poems are commonly about the environment and this is because I have always been really passionate about helping to protect the environment. I really believe that it is an extremely important global issue that we all need to act on. I aim to inspire and motivate people to be more (by doing more to prevent further climate change) and ensure that our everyday lives have a positive impact on our planet and the lives around us. This was an event where I wanted to try and achieve that through a slam poem about the environment.
What is your favourite of all your poems?
To be honest I don’t really have a favourite poem though the collection of poems in my new book Limelightis the favourites list. It took quite some serious thinking to decide which of my poems to include in my book, Limelight, and which ones to leave behind.
Do you prefer your written poems or your slam poetry? Why?
I use poetry as a platform to try and raise awareness and inspire and motivate everyday people and especially my generation. So, by performing, I have found my messages have become stronger than when they are just written down. I was really happy to be able to narrate my own audio book because I could combine my written and vocal slam poems in one place.
Your poetry has given you the opportunity to perform in so many locations. What was your favourite place to perform and why?
I loved performing at this years’ Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony on the Gold Coast. It was viewed live across the world by 1.5 billion people. That was amazing to stand in front such a large audience, it was an amazing experience! Every event is different and that’s what I like about performing. I have also really enjoyed visiting schools to talk about poetry with students.
What advice would you give to someone starting out as a slam poet?
I always suggest to try and eliminate any negative thoughts, just write down whatever comes to you, like any ideas, topics, sentences or even words. The great thing about slam poetry is there are no specific lengths, topics or structures, it’s totally up to the writer how they write and what they write.
What inspires you most?
Global issues really fuel me to write and perform my slam poetry. Nearly 4 trillion plastic bags have been produced this year alone. I believe it’s all in people’s power to make healthy changes for a healthier planet. A lot of people think that it’s up to the big businesses or governments, but the businesses won’t keep producing plastic bags if we don’t keep using them. So, I’m inspired by the need of action.
Are you a big reader? If so, what are you reading at the moment?
I am a big reader. I have just finished reading several books and next on the list is “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini.
What can we expect from you in the next year or two?
I’ve got a couple of events this year, including talking and performing at another TEDx event, and I have a few books that are almost ready for publication. I have just finished working on a collaboration project with Greenpeace which was really fun as we turned one of my poems into a really powerful short film. I can’t wait for the US and Canada release of my book Limelight, which will take me over to North America early in 2019. But in terms of the next few years, I am hoping to become a songwriter and a rapper, and I’m planning a school tour for 2019. I’ve had quite a lot of people ask me to run for Prime Minister, which I’m not too sure about but along with everything else, you will just have to wait and see!