The Martlet

Strong Cottonwoods walked on the stage to a crowd of confused and slightly irritated faces. He was dressed to the nines compared to the other performers. In fact, he was just plain dressed. 

Someone from the audience rose to object and finally asked the question that everyone else was pondering over: why does he have clothes on? Or more accurately, why isn’t he naked?

The audience didn’t have to ponder long, as halfway through his poem Cottonwoods let his clothing drop to the floor as though he wasn’t wearing them in the first place. Of course, by then, the audience was used to such a sight. The group had seen Cottonwoods (and seven other local poets) bare their flesh and hearts — to use the words of host Dave Morris.

This year’s “Poetry in the Raw” — a slam poetry reading where the poets shed their clothes and act out their pieces wearing nothing but the stage and spotlight — performed its second rotation in Victoria last week.

The theme this year was “cover.” First, the poets read covers of other’s works, ranging from Canadian slam poetry champion Brendan McLeod to experienced spoken-word performer William Shatner. Following that, the poets took to the stage with their own pieces.

“Poetry is you being naked, you in the raw . . . sharing who you are,” said Kristy Westendorp, member of the Victoria Slam team, of the nudity.

But there’s more to being naked than just not having any clothes on. And it was more than just the poets that were sharing.

Morris lead the audience through his journey toward his first sojourn into public nudity, and invited audience members to share the experience. Many were so inclined to join Morris they defied his “one step at a time” policy, and took clothes off as they pleased rather than waiting for his brief introductions where he would announce both the next poet and the next piece of clothing that would be collectively removed.

The first poem was written by Morris, but was covered by Westendorp, and dealt with the very situation Morris was going through on stage: overcoming insecurities through trust. And it was a trusting atmosphere; whether that was displayed through the audience’s willingness to throw themselves into the same boat as the performer or through the generally respective tone they emitted.

The atmosphere was so trusting that Jen Davies, who had recently given birth, stood naked on the stage to announce the winner of a draw for services courtesy of The Hair Garden Salon.

The themes were numerous. Missie Peters, producer of the event and Westendorp’s fellow Victoria Slam Team member, wrote of the hassles and cover-ups of everyday work life. Meanwhile, Jane Bee wrote about the triangular relationship between her, her children and the current world state.

For her own piece, Westendorp walked onto the stage eating a piece of cake, which (she later assured everyone) was vegan. Her approach to the theme of cover dealt with the fact that she wanted to show that everyone is different under their clothes; something often forgotten in the days of fad diets and eating disorders. To prove this, standing stark naked before reading, she ate.

For Westendorp, writing a poem about body image came from the dilemma that she could either lose 15 pounds or write a body acceptance piece. Considering losing 15 pounds could hardly be shared with a group of poetry lovers, it seemed like she’d made the right choice. Plus, she said, losing 15 pounds wouldn’t have been as fun.

All the proceeds from the event go towards sending the Victoria Slam Team to the nationals.