EXHIBITIONS
dng – tijdschrift Vermeylenfonds and Poetry Slams, submitted by the Vermeylenfonds
With “Taal en ongelijkheid 19-20” (“Language and Inequality 19-20”), the Vermeylenfonds harkens back to the core convictions of August Vermeylen. Not only was Vermeylen the founder of the first dutchified university (1933), he also wanted to bring Flanders to the level of European intellectual life at the time. Language was – and remains – crucial for emancipation.
Marx’s ideas were also emancipatory. He was born 200 years ago, while poetry slams have existed for 40 years. Substructure and superstructure, theory and practice. The link between the two is discussed in detail in dng magazine.
Poetry Slams are one of the ways in which the Vermeylenfonds presents itself to the outside world. Young people are given the opportunity to use their language skills: the texts are usually very personal and self-aware – many topics are discussed and no subject is taboo. The term ‘poetry slam’ was first used by the American construction worker and poet Marc Kelly Smith, who started a monthly open mic in Chicago in the 1980s and called it the Uptown Poetry Slam. Creatief Schrijven, the not-for-profit Flemish support centre for writing enthusiasts, uses the following definition: a Poetry Slam is a competition in which different poets get three minutes of stage time and compete against each other in different rounds. The picture shows the winners of the Poetry Slam.