"MY SPOKEN WORD IS A WAY TO EDUCATE"

(The following article is from the March 1-15, 2008 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St. Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3).

People's Voice interview by Johan Boyden

"Honestly, I wish it was a whole year," Alicia Murrin tells People's Voice. "A day is wonderful, there are a lot of events where you can come together - but it should be a whole year."

     Alicia is talking about International Women's Day. A young spoken word artist in Toronto, she's been writing since 11 or 12, but started performing just a year ago. Now she's done events like Toronto's Mayworks Festival and the CAW youth poetry slam. This February she opened for Angela Davis at the Toronto Women's Bookstore.

     "Everything I write is from experience," Alicia says. "A lot of politics. Whether that is women's issues, First Nations issues, or student issues."

     It's a reflection of the world. "I wrote a poem to young women - I talk about the media, how the media always says beautiful girls are the skinny ones. I wanted to let young women know that they don't have to be skinny to be beautiful."

     Her poetry also talks about work. "A lot of young people take on jobs where they know they'll get hired. Once you get there it is not what you thought it would be. People do take advantage of you and step on you. Youth stay there because they say `where else will they hire me? I'm only 15.' I was stuck in a job like that for like five years."

     "I've been talking a lot about land disputes and violence. Mainly I take a First Nations perspective. I've been talking about the Aboriginal women who are still missing. There are more than 500

aboriginal women missing in Canada. And nobody seems to care! You have to wonder why. Why are their names not mentioned? Why is this still happening? Why are women still being murdered and raped? I think these are complicated issues to do with racism, social issues, for women as well," she says.

     Alicia grew up mainly in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Nine years ago she moved to Toronto. "Cornerbrook is a completely different lifestyle" she says. "There is one main reserve in Newfoundland and there are off-reserve bands."

     Now she is in her last year at Ryerson, working at the Aboriginal Student Services centre. "We do potlucks every month, traditional events, workshops," Alicia says. She has also served as Aboriginal Students' representative with the Canadian Federation of Students in Ontario. "There are barriers within the education system for aboriginal women."

     "On reserve there are basic water issues, food security - off reserve you get more racism and sexism," she says. "It is not as if we are being assimilated into residential schools, but we go to university and get assimilated. Do you respect our world views, do you respect our literature? It is still happening."

     "I have one poem where I talk about land issues - it is kind of an angry poem. I talk about when Europeans first came, how they were received, what happened after that." But, she adds, "I'd rather write a poem that's angry than hurt somebody! It is an emotion that needs to be expressed in a constructive way."

     "My spoken word is a way to educate. To let people know how I see things, what we can do about it." She gets different feedback. "Some people are offended, which is cool. Mostly white people. But it isn't directed personally at them, it is directed at a group of people who did things in the past. They should recognize that certain events did happen, and educate themselves about it, instead of being offended."

     But a lot of people ask for copies of her poems.

     "The truth is, I'm kind of bad at verbal communication," Alicia says. "Poetry is my outlet. When people first wanted me to perform, I thought `This is weird! This is just my therapy!'" She remembers her first poetry reading. "I was nervous - I still get really, really, nervous. I just remember my heart was beating so fast I couldn't breathe. I just did it. And that was it."

     Now she enjoys it.

     "I'm pretty quiet. But sometimes in my poetry I'm angry. I think sometimes people are surprised by that." If a young woman wants to be a spoken word artist, "I would tell them to go for it, if you are writing about important things that should be shared with others honestly, that's how people learn."

Found at: http://www.peoplesvoice.ca/articleprint13/07_MY_SPOKEN_WORD_IS_A_WAY_TO_EDUCATE.html