The Heartbreak Kid - An Interview with spoken word poet Emmet Kirwan

Taking social media by storm, playwright and spoken word poet Emmet Kirwan’s latest video ‘Heartbreak’ tells the story of a young working class woman – narrated simply as “young one” – who finds herself faced with an unwanted pregnancy.

Subsequently, she struggles to navigate being a self-sufficient provider for her child in a structurally sexist environment. In doing so, the gripping narrative of Kirwan’s poem tackles many of the major issues currently confronting people in Ireland.

“This is not a personal story,” Emmet tells me straight off the bat when I ask him about the inspiration for ‘Heartbreak’. Those who have watched the video would be forgiven for thinking otherwise, considering the power and conviction that the Tallaght man puts into his performance.

“But these stories are happening every day,” he adds. “The poem came after I was asked to perform at an event that was to be a kind of counter-celebration to the official 1916 Centenary celebrations. I began to look at the attitudes of the government towards people on the fringes and saw the hypocrisy that comes from celebrating what was done 100 years ago.

“The ideals of the rebels aren’t matched by present-day reality. Young people, like the girl in this poem, are rotting in hostel rooms or aren’t able to feed their children, because the government doesn’t want to help those who are on the bottom rung of society.”

YOUTH EMIGRATION

Confronting stereotypes and preconceived notions is at the heart of the bleak message of ‘Hearbreak’. In a country where terms like sexism, abortion and women’s rights are used as political footballs, simply telling one person’s story can speak volumes. Emmet agrees.

“When you think about the aspirations set out by the leaders of the Easter Rising,” he says, “those ideals haven’t been met, and that’s especially true when it comes to women. As a poet, I can’t biologically write what it’s like to be a woman, but there are things that men can do to try to understand and illuminate the problems that women face. In the past, you might have had rich people trying to explain the working classes or men trying to explain women. I wasn’t prepared to do that. I wanted to narrate the story and leave the judgement out of it. I think it’s important not to ignore these situations.”

The combination of visuals, music and spoken word, under the baton of director Dave Tynan, give this poem an added urgency. An interesting sub-context to the story behind this video is that the actress who plays “young one” is Jordanne Jones, daughter of Senator Lynn Ruane – one of Ireland’s strongest female role models, who also faced adversity having had her daughter at a young age.

“Lynn came to see me perform the poem at a spoken word event,” says Kirwan. “She asked me: ‘Was that poem about me?’ I realised that there was an interesting parallel there. The choice to have Jordanne Jones act in the video was appropriate, but I told the Senator that this wasn’t about anyone specifically. It was to highlight that these issues can and do affect women across Ireland.”

This is not the first time that Emmet Kirwan has had a viral hit with a spoken word video. In 2012, he performed ‘Just Saying’, which tackled the mass emigration of youth from Irish shores. The huge success of that video was a testament to the growing appetite for socially conscious spoken word poetry in Dublin.

“There’s a burgeoning spoken word scene in the city,” nods Kirwan. “Poetry has obviously always been a big thing in Ireland, but the way poetry is delivered is different now. Books don’t sell anymore, so people are adapting their work to be heard in performance. It’s less about couplets and stanzas and more about rhythm and tone and delivery.

“Hip hop is a major influence. Not just on the way that poetry is delivered but also in the way that rap artists are writing about the social situations that they live in. So there’s a deep connection between spoken word, slam poetry and hip hop. Just look at Saul Williams in America or Kate Tempest in Britain.

“What’s happening now in Dublin is amazing. Irish poetry and Irish hip hop are starting to intersect like never before, with new acts like Rusangano Family, Hare Squead and This Side Up. What happened for years in Irish rap was that rappers sort of sounded like Brian Kerr doing spoken word. And the same thing was going on with poetry, where people were reading in lofty voices and trying to sound like a priest delivering a sermon.

“Now finally the Irish are starting to accept that we’re vibrant, effusive talkers by nature. We don’t have to put on someone else’s voice. We’re owning our voices now.”