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Poets are Present: Pages Matam
Poets are Present is a poetry residency in conjunction with David Ives’s adaptation of The Metromaniacs. As part of this unique theatre/poetry exchange, the Shakespeare Theatre Company is proud to host more than 30 D.C.-area poets in the theatre’s lobby. Throughout the run, we will share with you the poems that this residency inspired our guests to write. Visit our Poets are Present page to see a list of upcoming poets.
Pages Matam is a multidimensional touring artist, residing in the D.C. metropolitan area, but originally from Cameroon, Africa. He is a Write Bloody Author, playwright, 2014 National poetry slam champion along various other awards, with passions in the field of education, violence and abuse trauma work, and youth advocacy. Pages is a proud gummy bear elitist, bowtie enthusiast, professional hugger and anime fanatic. When he takes stage – as a performer, educator, or activist – be prepared to be taken on an experience of cultural, socially conscious, and personal discovery unapologetic in its silly yet visceral and beautifully honest in its storytelling.
THE POEMS WAR GIVES TO THE BODY
By Pages Matam
When every day is a battle
spilling from the bedazzled mouth
of greed, and laws, and bones
and oil, and teeth, and bones,
and flags, and shells, and bones
and triggers, and borders, and bones
and your own heart, and a lover’s palms
and the mind’s fog, and the ache
and the longing, and the break
and the bones, the bones, the bones,
war gives you a name
teaches you to walk
feeds you silence
calls it mercy,
for some, poetry is how we cope
with the aftermath
for others, poetry is the weapon of choice
for survival.
Click the thumbnail below to enlarge SWAY by Pages Matam.
