Written by:
Gina DeVries
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this Issue of Curve:
11.8
Netta Brooks, 18, is a writer, photographer and activist from Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked with the Louisville Fairness Campaign, the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, and the Louisville Youth Group.
What is a slam? How did you first get into slam poetry?
A slam is like a battle with words. It’s a competition for performance poetry. People who sign up to compete are allotted a certain amount of time to present as much material as they can. They are then judged on a scale from 1 to 10. … From that point it’s a process of elimination; the people with the highest scores advance to the next round, and so on and so forth, until there are two people left competing. The person who wins gains whatever title there is, like Slam Poet Champion or whatever. And if they’re lucky, there’s a cash prize.
I got into slam poetry about two years ago. A friend from Minnesota by the name of Lyska Janasek introduced me. We went to an open mic in Louisville and she performed. What she did that night blew me away, and from that moment on I wanted to do that. And she just told me that it was about saying what was on your mind no matter what it was or who it offends, and I wrote my first slam poem a few days later.
What is it like to do activism in an area as conservative as Kentucky?
Well, I’ve done work for political campaigns city- and statewide. I’ve lobbied for fairness laws in Jefferson County and Kentucky as a whole. I’ve done things against the curfew, police brutality, women’s reproductive rights and, God, I don’t know what else!
Kentucky isn’t as conservative as people think; it’s not extremely liberal, either. It’s just that we have to put forth a little more effort in the work that we do here. I’ve done political work in other places like California and I will say that things are a little harder to work for in the South, but that just makes us extra-special!
You’ve mentioned that, growing up working-class with a single mom, you had firsthand experience with how the system is flawed and are now striving to change it. What do you want to see change?
Not to be vague, but I would like to see everything change. I continue to experience firsthand the flaws in the system. I would like to see better transition programs from being on welfare to not being on welfare. I would like to see more help and assistance for those who have made it off welfare and don’t want to go back, but are working their asses off to make ends meet.
What intersections do you see between art and activism?
I don’t know if I would call them intersections, but there are definitely ways to make activism fun and interesting, and I just see art as a way to do that. Whether it’s writing or music or visual arts or dancing or whatever you do for the revolution, it’s all important and it all ties together!
— Gina DeVries
baby dyke-in-residence, age 17
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