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Slam Poets Convene in Mali for Festival

Annie Risemberg

   BAMAKO, MALI - Mali this year struggled with an Islamist insurgency, a
   worldwide pandemic, and an August military coup, all of which left most
   cultural events in the West African nation in shambles.

   But Mali's annual [1]International Festival of Slam and Humor, FISH,
   was merely delayed until November, after a post-coup curfew was lifted.

   Twenty-three-year-old Malian Aïcha Diarra'¯first learned of
   competitive, performance poetry - Slam Poetry -'¯when her high school
   held a contest.

   She has been a'¯slam poet'¯ever since and'¯competes at FISH every year.
   She performed on stage for the first time in nearly a year at this
   year's festival, which she said brought her great joy.

   Diarra sees'¯her art as a form of'¯activism to'¯highlight the struggles
   of'¯Malian women and girls.'¯

   Sitting on a graffiti-covered rooftop in Bamako, she says many of the
   topics in her poems are considered too bold in conservative Mali.

   But, she says, some people congratulate her for daring to talk about
   taboo subjects such as circumcision of young girls.

   Cultural crossroads

   Slam Poetry is a relatively new music scene in Mali, a country with
   deep musical traditions that is seen as a cultural crossroads in
   Africa.'¯

   Slam Poetry first appeared in Mali in 2006, years after it gained
   popularity in the United States, and FISH started in 2014.

   The annual festival is run by Malian group Agoratoire, founded by one
   of Mali's first slam poets, Aziz'¯Koné. The theme for this year's
   festival is Peace and Social Cohesion.

   Just days before the festival, France, the region's former colonial
   power,launched airstrikes in central Mali that killed more than 50
   jihadists.

   Mali has been struggling against an Islamist insurgency spreading in
   the Sahel region along with thousands of U.N. and French troops.

   Anger over the ongoing conflict fueled mass protests that led the
   military in August to oust President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

   Despite the unrest, the festival -- and Mali's slam poets -- have seen
   their support base grow, including among musicians.

   Poets as musicians

   Djelimady Cissoko is an executive member of the Malian Federation of
   Artists. He teaches the kora -- a West African stringed instrument --
   to students at the National Arts Institute.

   Cissoko says the slam poets are considered full-fledged musicians.

   Undeterred by the region's ongoing conflictand unrest at home, Mali's
   slam poets are passionate about their art and a better future for their
   country.

References

   1. http://fishmali.org/index.html

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