Young Pacific poets set to make their voices heard

Pacific teenagers who discovered slam poetry while in high school say they intend to continue well after their studies.

The students will be participating in the final of the inter-high school poetry and spoken word contest - WORD-The Front Line (WTFL) 2024.

The competition, hosted by Action Education Inc., will be held on Saturday at the Aotea Centre in Auckland.

Six teams from Ngā Puna o Waiōrea, Zayed College for Girls, De La Salle College, Diocesan School for Girls, Auckland Girls Grammar, and Alfriston College will vie to be crowned the Grand Slam Champions 2024.

Auckland Girls Grammar team members Teresa To’a, Felicia To’a, Tapusalaia Joyce Pesamino Afoa, and Lesieli Ahokava told PMN News they use poetry to express their thoughts and discuss topics they are dealing with.

Auckland Girls Grammar team performing at the semi-finals. Photo/Supplied

Teresa To’a says poetry helped process her emotions and provided an outlet to share her story.

“I liked it because as a Pacifica, we're not really shown to say how we feel and just talk about it.

“So for me, it was just a platform to write and just process how I'm feeling and not just bottle it all up.

“And then reading it out loud actually helped solidify what I was feeling was justified. You know?”

Ahokava says she writes poetry so others, who are experiencing the same issues, can feel seen.

“I write so that maybe somebody else that's going through the same thing as I am going through could hear it one day.

“So I like to write for me as well but also for those whose voices are not heard yet.”

WORD-The Front Line facilitator and alumni Talia Stanley. Photo/Supplied

WTFL aims to introduce the youth to literary expression and creative writing through the competition, facilitator Talia Stanley says.

She says they also hope to bridge the generational divide through spoken word expression and to improve the poets’ communication skills.

At WTFL, there is no censorship in the competition, but hate speech has no place there, Stanley says.

“We like to say that we have an uncensored space, but it's hate speech free. If it's something that you feel like you need to do for your poem, then we allow that to happen.

“But anything like homophobia, Islamophobia, and racism won't exist in our spaces, we're really clear on that fact.

“We're quite open and want to make sure that everyone feels safe in these spaces while also feeling heard and that those two things can coexist.”

De La Salle College team celebrating their acceptance to the Grand Slam. Photo/Supplied

De La Salle College representative Kaharau Gilbert says he initially felt out of place at the competition as a Polynesian but was quickly accepted by the community.

“At first, we didn't really feel like we belong because like we're the only brown skin Polynesians at the comp.

“But then, sharing our stories and seeing how they support us,it just shows that these people actually care for us and they want to hear our stories.

“I think everyone just made us feel like we fit in now.”

Stanley says competitions like WTFL are important to foster the next generation of leaders, where students can build skills and utilise them in an actual setting.

“Our young people are our future leaders and it's important for them to have spaces to practice the skills of like writing English and whakawhanaungatanga.

“Not only is this a craft, but it's also a practice for life. The hope is that we can give them those skills to believe in themselves, feel confident, and do all the writing and performance, but ultimately this is just a stepping stone in their life.

“It might just be a memory, it might just be a competition to them. But for us, it's way more than a competition.”

For more about the WTFL Grand Slam and to purchase tickets, visit here.