History of Movement: Slam Poetry was started by poet Marc Smith who was really a construction worker in 1986 at a jazz club in Chicago. In the 1990s the Slam Poetry Movement began with influences from the Black Arts and Negritude Movements. The poets of this time spoke upon economical, racial, gender related misfortunes and current events of time. The real excitement surrounding Slam Poetry was the competition. Slam poets competed individually or in teams in front of judges and crowds. Many of these events were held in cafés or similar settings. Also, this poetry was not meant to be read by a reader off of paper. This style of poetry is meant to be heard so that you could gain the full emotion of the poem. This is partially how poets were judged, based on the energy of the poet and their content.
MR ALL THAT Who the hell do you think you are? Who give you the right To behave Like the rest of the cave men? I thought you were enlightened Learned I thought…. Damn you! Damn you for wasting my time My love My life On someone like you!
I thought you were made With heavenly fibers With other world cells That would appreciate the honesty The devotion The care The babying The being at your beck and call The moving my schedule around to fit you The moving my day around to suit you The moving my life around to accommodate YOU That you found in me!!!! I thought.... DAMN!
But you are like the rest Once you have it all You take it for granted Think you are the king of the world THE MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE You are just a man A MAN A typical MAN
Need the mystery??? The chase???? The need to hunt To capture your prey Still burns in your veins?
GO then Get OUT Go and hunt Just don’t expect to come here...tired, weary And have your meal ready And your desert to be me All creamed up Ready.... To be licked clean...
Need to be treated like dirt??? To want? To pursue? Is that why You came here to end it all? I’m no longer a challenge for you? Too much of a commitment involved? Is your baggage getting in the way? I could have unpacked it for you And seen you through
Damn…damn damn damn I’ll never learn To hold back And not give it all away
Now you want to leave??? Yea, it’s been nice OF COURSE IT’S BEEN NICE, MORON I gave you my heart and soul THAT’S EQUIVALENT TO PARADISE
Yes, dear… You would like to leave? Can’t give me what I deserve BLA BLA BLA BLA Shut up! LEAVE! GOOD RIDDANCE! I won’t grieve Let me walk you to the door I gave you all and more Not because you were all that But because I’m ALL THAT! And MORE That’s the way I love That’s the way I adore Go….good luck
When that temptress leaves you high and dry And you taste the poison in her pie When you finally come to see She has the breasts But NO HEART underneath You'll remember me….. Don’t come to this door JUST LET ME BE! Don't you DARE go knock on this door Because, MR ALL THAT! “LOVE DON’T LIVE ANYMORE.”
Poem Analysis: MR. ALL THAT: Eileen Ghali Ghali's fierce emotion is immediately communicated in the first line. She establishes her hatred towards a man that she was in a relationship with for an extended period of time. She expresses her frustration with men's arrogance and nerve in general, not just addressing the man she was with but men as a whole. She felt that men were no good, especially to woman who put all their love into a relationship. This poem embodies the meaning of slam poetry. Ghali touches on the gender related aspect of slam poetry which was very popular at the time of the movement. The strong emotional content is perfect example of the intensity of slam poetry.
Literary Devices Cliché- Ghali uses cliche in this poem to convey the message that all men behave arrogantly and mistreat the women in their lives. The line reads, " You are just a man, a MAN, a typical MAN". This saying is a stereotype created by women who generalize men and, is not true because all men are not the same. However, this is a great justification for the behavior of Ghali's lover that led her to feel this way. Ultimately, this led her to address the feelings that she believes all women have towards men and reflect an essential base of gender problems in slam poetry.
Simile- The use of the simile in this poem is also about the behavior of men. It reads, " Who gave you the right, to behave, like the rest of the cave men?". The comparison between her man(all men) and cavemen suggests that they have no control over their behavior. This also adds to idea that Ghali is expressing women's issue with men.