Victoria’s 2008 slam team: (from left) Steve Thompson, Missie Peters, Jeremy Loveday, Jane Bee and Kristy Westendorp

Naked and Unafraid

Poetry in the Raw disrobes for a second year

You know that nightmare when you find yourself standing naked in front of an auditorium full of people? Well, Missie Peters has had the same nightmare, but with a twist—she’s fully clothed. That isn’t surprising considering Peters is the director, producer and one of the performers of a fundraising event where the participants are reading poetry entirely naked.

Poetry in the Raw: Covered features local slam poets Steven J. Thompson, Jane Bee, strong.cottonwoods, Kristy Westendorp, Danielle Ayotte, shayne avec i grec, Matthew Davidson, Peters and host Dave Morris hitting the stage to raise money to send the slam-poetry team to the Nationals in Calgary this November. Traditional slam style dictates that each poet has three minutes to read an original work using no props, costumes or music, and are judged by audience members.

“It is a very visceral raw experience; you should feel if somebody punched you in the gut,” explains Peters.

But this installment of Poetry in the Raw will deviate from the rules. In the first half of the fundraiser, performers read cover pieces (other people’s work); the second half will feature each poet’s original work exploring the theme of cover—this time props and costumes are allowed.

Peters says the nudity isn’t about shock value, it’s about getting to the essence of poetry. “Saying the poetry naked has a physical reaction that is missed when we are wearing clothes,” she says. “It’s an empowering event. It pushes the performer into a new realm, to give them new tools, to provide a new experience to the audience, and to broaden their horizons.”

Peters cites an example from last year’s performance that spurned audience involvement. “We invited the audience to disrobe and a quarter of them obliged—both male and female,” she recalls. “It created an incredible intimate safe atmosphere. The audience opened up to the content because they were also exposed.”

Peters practiced her poem naked in front of the mirror every night for a month to get rid of any jitters. As for her recent full-dressed nightmare, she recalls with a laugh, “I was dressed in a winter parka on stage; I remember panicking and saying, ‘How did I get on stage without taking off my clothes?’ That’s funny—it’s the opposite of most people’s nightmares.”

That’s a nightmare most of us wouldn’t mind having.

---------------
Poetry in the Raw: Covered
7:30 pm Monday, September 29
Victoria Events Centre, 1415 Broad
Tickets $15 advance/$18 at door
18+ • tonguesoffire.ca