Buddy Wakefield. Courtesy Mississauga News.
| Buddy Wakefield | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 4, 1974 Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Genres | spoken word |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | Righteous Babe Records |
Buddy Wakefield (born June 4, 1974) is an American performance poet-slam poet.[1]
Life[]
Wakefield was born in Shreveport, Louisiana[2] and raised in Baytown, Texas.[3]
In 2001, he left his position as an executive assistant for a biomedical firm,[3] in Gig Harbor, Washington, sold or gave away everything he owned, and moved into a Honda Civic to tour North American poetry venues.[4]
In 2004 and again in 2005,[5] Buddy Wakefield won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship title.[5] Wakefield has been a member of several poetry slam teams, including Team Seattle in 2006 and 2007.
When asked about his thoughts on the "Poetry Slam" and "Slam Poetry," Wakefield responded:
- “Poetry Slam” is an effective gimmick to get folks excited about poetry. It’s the competitive art of spoken word. It’s a competition, judged and so on. It’s accessible to everyone, and a great starting point for many.... It’s an event available to every voice, no exclusions. “Slam poetry” is a term that seems to have evolved into a generalization, given to a style of delivery culminating in rapid, rhythmic, cathartic voice and presence... Poetry Slam is an event. Slam poetry does not exist (not outside of its practical role of being any given poem entered into a Poetry Slam). I’ve been watching at close range since 1998. The styles of the poems entered into Poetry Slams are clearly infinite in scope.[6]
Wakefield continues to make his living through his poetry and performance. In addition to touring the country solo, Wakefield has also been a core member of several traveling poetry groups, including 2007's Solomon Sparrow's Electric Whale Revival, 2008's Junkyard Ghost Revival, 2009's Elephant Engine High Dive Revival and 2010's Night Kite Revival, where he shared the stage with poets such as Derrick Brown, Anis Mojgani, Andrea Gibson and Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, among others.[7] As of April 2012, Wakefield has performed his poetry in every state in the U.S. except "Montana, Mississippi and North Dakota."[6]
When asked in an interview why he made art, Wakefield responded:
- I first made art to get some things out of my body. Then I made it for the approval I overlooked growing up. Then I made it to accept myself. Then I made it because folks were reporting a healing that was happenin’.[2]
When not on tour, Wakefield lives near Seattle, Washington and serves on the board of Youth Speaks Seattle, a non-profit literary arts organization.[8]
Writing[]
Buddy Wakefield. Courtsy Twitter.
Wakefield has published several books of poetry: Some They Can't Contain (Wordsmith Press, 2004, reissued by Write Bloody Publishing), Live for a Living (Write Bloody Publishing, 2007),[9] and Gentleman Practice (Write Bloody Publishing, 2011).)
Wakefield has also released 3 full-length spoken word albums with producer Jon Berardi: A Stretch of Presence (1999), Run On Anything (2006) which was released by Strange Famous Records,[10] and Live at the Typer Cannon Grand (2009) which was released by Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records.[11] DiFranco became aware of Wakefield when her mother saw him perform at an art gallery in Buffalo, New York, and gave DiFranco a print out of Wakefield's website, saying, “You have to do something with this guy.”[3] The album contains recordings of live performances, including several from Wakefield's numerous times opening for DiFranco on her tour, as well as one studio-produced track.
Recognition[]
Wakefield is a 2-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion.[1] He won the title in 2004 and again in 2005, becoming the first poet to win the title in 2 consecutive years.[5]
Wakefield has had a profound impact on the contemporary Poetry Slam movement, both in his performance and writing style as well as how he has conducted his career. In her book, Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz named Wakefield as "the modern poetry slam role model." She wrote,
- [Wakefield] sold everything he owned and toured the country, living out of his car when he wasn't crashing on couches. He was not the first slam poet to do this and certainly not the last, but he was definitely the most high-profile, and he really set the stage for what I like to call the "Troubadour Movement" in slam, the whole desire simply to tour, to reach out and be with your community.[12]
Publications[]
- Some They Can't Contain. Nashville, TN: Write Bloody, 2004.
- Live For A Living. Nashville, TN: Write Bloody, 2007.
- Gentleman Practice: A collection of work. Long Beach, CA: Write Bloody, 2011.
- Henhouse: The international book for chickens and their lovers. Austin, TX: Write Bloody, 2012.
- Stunt Water: The Buddy Wakefield reader, 1991-2011. Austin, TX: Write Bloody, 2015.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[13]
Buddy Wakefield - The Information Man
BUDDY WAKEFIELD ELEPHANT ENGINE HIGH DIVE REVIVAL
Audio / video[]
Discography[]
- A Stretch of Presence (CD). Now New Publishing, 1999.[14]
- Run On Anything (music CD). Providence, RI: Strange Famous Records, 2006.
- Live at the Typer Cannon Grand (CD). Buffalo, NY: Righteous Babe Records, 2009.
Except where noted, discographical information courtesy WorldCat.[13]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Poetry Slam Inc. Website Announce of Wakefield's Repeat iWPS Championship
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Artist Interview with Buddy Wakefield: Fine Line Magazine
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Energy Engine of Buddy Wakefield: Arguably the Most Successful Spoken Word Poet on the Road" by Suzy La Follette, The Splinter Generation
- ↑ Official Buddy Wakefield Biography
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Individual World Poetry Slam
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Used Furniture Review: Interview with Buddy Wakefield"
- ↑ Poetry Revival Tour Website
- ↑ Wakefield Interview with The Southeast Review
- ↑ Write Bloody Publishing website
- ↑ Three tracks from Run on Anything published in The Pedestal Magazine
- ↑ Page on Righteous Babe Records website
- ↑ Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. Soft Skull Press. Page 354. ISBN 1-933368-82-9.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Search results = au:Buddy Wakefield, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 11, 2015.
- ↑ A Stretch of Presence, CD Baby. Web, Dec. 11, 2015.
External links[]
- Poems
- Buddy Wakefield at PoemHunter (1 poem, "In Landscape")
- "We Were Emergencies"
- Five poems by Buddy Wakefield
- Audio / video
- Books
- Buddy Wakefield at Amazon.com
- About
- Buddy Wakefield Official website
- Buddy Wakefield at Twitter
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