Betsy Clark from Columbus, Ohio loves bats, does weird things to her hair (and others' too, I suspect), and writes good things. Like, really good things. She might have the stature of a fifth grader, but I wouldn't eff with her, especially not when she gets on the stage and makes her presence known. Betsy doesn't just make you hear her words, she makes you feel them, and I'm not just using hyperbole for the sake of using hyperbole. And that's why after such a short time on the Columbus poetry scene Betsy has made two appearances at national competitions (Women of the World Poetry Slam 2014, 2015) and will soon be competing in multiple regional competitions--all as a respresentative of Writer's Block Poetry, a poetry open mic in Columbus, Ohio founded by former Poetry Slam, Inc. president, Scott Woods, and Vernell Bristow. Writer's Block has been a part of the Columbus night life since before I discovered that poems don't have to rhyme (note: that's a really long time). It was at Writer's Block that I first met and befriended Miss Clark. Shy at first, she quickly matured into a powerful performer and an even stronger writer. Even if it's just a single 1-minute poem, her performance is one I always look forward to seeing. Betsy is probably also the only person to a mini poetry tour in exchange for spaghetti dinners. A while back I emailed her some questions. She answered them pretty quickly, like surprisingly quickly, and then I procrastinated on doing anything with her answers after that until now because, well... that's how I roll.
1.
Recently you competed in the 2015 Women of the
World Poetry Slam (WOWPS) for the second time in two years. What was that like,
especially compared to last year? Is there anything you did differently from
last year to this year?
I went into this year knowing what to expect. This is year was much more successful because I wasn’t overwhelmed. I went in knowing how I was going to take the most possible from the event. So, I invested more time in talking to fellow poets, and a lot more time taking workshops. I came to learn, and I learned a lot. One day I wrote a poem and slammed with it that night. I would have been way too terrified to do that the year prior.
2.
You’re also a member of this year’s Writer’s
Block Poetry slam team out of Columbus, Ohio. The team isn’t going to Oakland
for the National Poetry Slam this year, but you are competing in a few other
competitions. Can you tell us about those? Who else is on the team with you?
We will be
competing in three events! The first event being the Ohio regional slam, Meat
Grinder, in Columbus, on May 2nd. The next is June 2nd-6th,
that is Southern Fried Regional, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Lastly, we will be
competing in the Rust Belt Regional, in Rockford, Illinois at the end of June.
The team is Javier Cintax, Janel Williams, Nehemiah, and Mathias Jackson.
3.
Scott Woods, the Writer’s Block Poetry
slammaster and the team coach, is incredibly well-known in the poetry slam
scene having once served as the president of Poetry Slam, Inc (PSI). What’s it
like to have such a poetry slam star as your coach? What is he doing to help
prepare the team for competition?
The real question is “What isn’t Scott Wood’s doing?!” He IS working us HARD and I could not be more grateful. Scott isn’t trying to make good slam poets, he is trying to make good poets. He has us reading poets we didn’t know, writing many form poems, and attending events that we wouldn’t usually attend. Scott knows where we need worked, and he is working us.
The real question is “What isn’t Scott Wood’s doing?!” He IS working us HARD and I could not be more grateful. Scott isn’t trying to make good slam poets, he is trying to make good poets. He has us reading poets we didn’t know, writing many form poems, and attending events that we wouldn’t usually attend. Scott knows where we need worked, and he is working us.
4.
Compared to a lot of Columbus poets, you’re still
relatively fresh to the scene (and also pretty young), though you’ve come a
long way in the couple years you’ve been doing it. What originally brought you
to poetry open mics, specifically Writer’s Block Poetry, and eventually competitive
slam poetry?
I have been on the scene for almost two years now, and I am twenty-three. Thank you, for saying I have come a long way, because I am always looking to get farther. I got to the mic because my sister gave me the life advice “Betsy, make your decisions, they are YOUR decisions, and they become who you are.” I hung up the phone and drove to Writer’s Block (which I had heard of) because I was deciding to be a real poet. I thought being a real poet meant everyone knowing you write poems. Now, I slammed because it was a new challenge. I have a thing for challenges. Plus, you get to read more poems.
I have been on the scene for almost two years now, and I am twenty-three. Thank you, for saying I have come a long way, because I am always looking to get farther. I got to the mic because my sister gave me the life advice “Betsy, make your decisions, they are YOUR decisions, and they become who you are.” I hung up the phone and drove to Writer’s Block (which I had heard of) because I was deciding to be a real poet. I thought being a real poet meant everyone knowing you write poems. Now, I slammed because it was a new challenge. I have a thing for challenges. Plus, you get to read more poems.
5.
On that note, when did you first start writing
and what was your original motivation for doing so? What has kept you going?
How has your technique or style evolved as you’ve grown and matured as a
writer?
When I was eleven I fell in love with a boy named Josh. I wrote poems about how I wanted to be his girlfriend. I don’t know how to not write. I think I’d be lonely without it. I’m pretty sure everything I’ve ever written is a love poem. Not the romantic kind. But, maybe everything I care enough to write about has to be with some kind of love. I will get back to you on how true that is later in life. I have matured and grown the more I write and read other poets. Reading is how you grow. I whine less.
When I was eleven I fell in love with a boy named Josh. I wrote poems about how I wanted to be his girlfriend. I don’t know how to not write. I think I’d be lonely without it. I’m pretty sure everything I’ve ever written is a love poem. Not the romantic kind. But, maybe everything I care enough to write about has to be with some kind of love. I will get back to you on how true that is later in life. I have matured and grown the more I write and read other poets. Reading is how you grow. I whine less.
6.
Is there any one writer or perhaps a few
different writers who have strongly influenced you?
I know “all of them” isn’t a good answer. EE Cummings and T.S. Eliot are the poets that move me always, so they probably have influenced me. Maybe I should start going by B.N. Clark.
I know “all of them” isn’t a good answer. EE Cummings and T.S. Eliot are the poets that move me always, so they probably have influenced me. Maybe I should start going by B.N. Clark.
7.
What is the biggest and best journey you have
ever taken in your life? You may interpret this question however you wish.
Every morning I wake up and choose to love myself.
Every morning I wake up and choose to love myself.
8.
Anyone who is Facebook friends with you knows
you love bats. Why do you love bats so much?
Oh my Lord, bats are the best thing around! How could you not love them? But, no one has asked, so I haven’t had to crack this open. Firstly, bats are living threatened lives, they live with the stigma of being vermin, but are vital to every ecosystem and food chain. I swear, I wasn’t trying to make this a metaphor. I’ll leave you with this, I often choose to love things due to the fact they aren’t getting enough love. I am not saying that’s a good quality. I got way too honest in this interview.
Oh my Lord, bats are the best thing around! How could you not love them? But, no one has asked, so I haven’t had to crack this open. Firstly, bats are living threatened lives, they live with the stigma of being vermin, but are vital to every ecosystem and food chain. I swear, I wasn’t trying to make this a metaphor. I’ll leave you with this, I often choose to love things due to the fact they aren’t getting enough love. I am not saying that’s a good quality. I got way too honest in this interview.
9.
What are your top five favorite albums to listen
to while writing?
An Awesome Wave by Alt J
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
13 Songs by Fugazi
Dirty by Sonic Youth
any ambient playlist
An Awesome Wave by Alt J
Duke Ellington and John Coltrane by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane
13 Songs by Fugazi
Dirty by Sonic Youth
any ambient playlist
