Page Break
Poet interview series for NaPoWriMo
By Leslie D. Rose // Interview by Donney Rose
April 29, 2015 (29/30)
Poet and organizer Mona Webb (Oakland, Calif.) cooks up the recipe for curating a healthy poetry scene.
Recipe to curate a successful poetry community, in no particular order:
A clear vision that grows/Dedication to the community you serve/Loving your community/Clear intentions/A commitment to curating an honest experience for the poets and the audience/ Leadership/The ability to listen to and ingest critical feedback/Strong partnerships of support/ Delegation/Determination/ Work/ Giving Gratitude/ Honoring history/ Fellowship/Artistic, financial, and personal investment in your community’s success/Research/Patience/Promotion/ Good boundaries/A great host/Joyful and encouraging engagement/Poets committed to a vision of their highest artistic selves/Community engagement/Community investment/Curating models of visible community success that we all take ownership and pride in a desire to challenging what is familiar and unfamiliar in our artistry/Goals and aspirations for the best of the community we engage…
Or you could just be Mona Webb.
Webb began writing poetry in kindergarten. By age 15, she was seriously writing, and one year later she began competing in poetry slams and organizing events. Her 20 year involvement with spoken word poetry and slam include her being a member of nine National Poetry Slam teams (Lexington, Ky., Baton Rouge and Modesto, Calif.) and curating some of the country’s finest events.
“Living into the intention and intensity of every word made me feel courageous as a young woman,” Webb said.
Upon moving to Baton Rouge, Webb took that courage and, with the help of her friend Chancelier “xero” Skidmore, created an idea for a group of performance poets to take poetry readings out of the hands of non-poet promoters and create their own promotional and production team – The Poetry Alliance.
“Poetry communities are traditionally grown not purely produced,” she said. “It is important to show your commitment, investment, love, faith, and joy to your community. One shouldn’t try to manufacture an investment in a poetry community; it’s best when it’s intentional, innate and personal.”
Originally an organization of 17 performance poets committed to the curating of quality poetry events in the community that did not take advantage of the poets, or take the poets for granted as artists, The Poetry Alliance would grow into the collective that currently promotes The Eclectic Truth – the longest running poetry open mic and slam in Baton Rouge.
“We wanted to grow a poetry scene that was integrated, artistically growth full and empowering,” she said. “Over the course of a short time we developed a special emphasis on engaging disenfranchised communities, communities of color, the queer community, college campuses, surrounding neighborhoods, poetry scenes in other parishes in Louisiana.
Serving as President of the PA, is hands down one of the most important things I’ve ever been a part of and is one of the life achievements I’m proudest of. The dreams we accomplished through the PA and the Baton Rouge arts community is a big part of the reason I’ve dedicated my life to the arts, education, and spiritual practice.”
And so what began as Webb’s way to for poets to have a hands-on approach to the development of a scene/reading gave way for Webb to not only inspire a culture of working artists, but to also create a different path for herself.
“I am far more hands off these days and am better able to focus on my career as an artist for it,” she said. “Mona Webb, the poet is a performance poet invested in sharing her life experiences, living as a full time working artist, giving voice to the life journey, honoring her artistic aesthetic, living into her purpose as an artist/teacher/spiritual practitioner, and is committed to activism in in her artistry.
Mona Webb, the organizer is invested in curating an artistic experience that engages community in a manner that encourages change, creativity, artistic development, challenges social norms, and encourages community investment in artistic expression.
I’m a performance ‘artivist’, a Godmother, a mentor, a spiritual practitioner, a daughter, a survivor, a friend, a lover, a mission, a sister, a visionary, an educator, a member of a movement, a joyful learner, a facilitator…
I am the art and the artist.”
Quite literally.
Webb is a conservatory-trained artist with a BA, emphasis in experimental theater from New College of California, and M.Ed. candidate at Lesley University. She recently accepted her nomination to the Executive Director’s position of the Eden Foundation, whose mission is to serve as a community, cultural and funding source for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer youth in the Greater Bay Area. She is also a scholar practitioner and teaching performance artist, serving as Artistic Director of Project ABLE/Lyrical Minded415, an interdisciplinary course of study that provides a restorative learning space for San Francisco’s most underserved secondary students.
Yet with all of her accomplishment and community impact, she simply said that she is still, a work in progress.