Today’s post is a collaboration brought to you by guest author, Joe Paris, and me, Melissa Smith. You can follow us on Twitter @ParisBMS and @MelAlterSmith.

Joe has curated this amazing list of spoken word and slam poems to get your class started! He also wrote a post about organizing a slam at your school here.

1) What is Spoken Word?

Spoken Word is poetry intended for onstage performance, rather than exclusively designed for the page. While often associated with hip-hop culture, it also has strong ties to storytelling, modern poetry, post-modern performance, and monologue theater, as well as jazz, blues, and folk music.

2) What is Slam Poetry?

Slam Poetry is poetry performed at a competition at which poets read or recite original work. These performances are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience.

3) Additional Information:

Slam poetry/spoken word often deals with controversial topics/issues. We all have different perspectives on these topics/issues, so please understand that while watching example videos, you should keep in mind that this genre is a medium for people to have their voices heard. That being said, I would like you to consider the performances in terms of the genre (Was the poet able to get a point across through the poem? Did the poet make the audience think? Was the poem recited in an effective way? etc.).

Wow! Thank you for this awesome list, Joe!

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My class had the incredible opportunity to bring in Jay Ward for a slam poetry workshop.

Jay Ward is a dynamic poet, performer and teaching artist. He represented Charlotte at the Individual World Poetry Slam three consecutive years and at the National Poetry Slam for two consecutive years. He was a 2017 Fellow of both Callaloo and The Watering Hole. Mr. Ward has been featured in many venues across the country and has spoken at UNCC, Kenyon College, and the NCBS 40th Anniversary Conference, among other places. He was Charlotte’s 2016 Poet of the Year, and the 2018 Charlotte Grand Slam Champion. The Slam Charlotte team went on to win the 2018 National Championship, and Mr. Ward will represent Charlotte again on the 2019 team. And you can read his incredible poems in his book Black Mythology.

I’d like to share with you some of the advice Jay gave my students in his workshop.

For writing poetry in general, Jay suggests:

• Don’t edit as you write. Everything exists in a 1st draft. Don’t stifle creativity as you go. Don’t be afraid of being too cheesy. Let it all into your draft.
• Find yourself in their work. Ask yourself why are writing this poem. Avoid generalities and get a specific to your experience as you can. The more specific you are, the more inviting you will be to your audience.
• Ask yourself, “Why did I write this?” Consider why is it important to you. Tell a story. What is the poem really about to you on a personal level.

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Writing a poem is one of the bravest things you can do.  ~Jay Ward

Poetry can often help us heal, as well as provide a source of healing for others.

For slam performances, Jay’s tips are:

• Slow down! Give the words the weight they deserve.
• Square up. When standing in front of a crowd, you need to find your base. Feet should be hip-width apart, stand up straight, don’t sway. Pretend there is a frame around your face (he referred to it as a “box”) and that any movements outside of this frame, such as fidgeting, hand gestures, or rocking, are distracting. Build any movements in where they make sense, then return back to your base.
• Let the words dictate the performance. The words tell you what you need for the performance. Any movements should be purposeful and meaningful with the language of the poem.
• Stick the landing. Don’t trail off at the end. The emotion and volume of the last words should match the rest of the poem. End it strong.

Thank you for reading! Do you have a story, lesson, activity, or something else to share with TeachLivingPoets.com? Be a guest author! Email me at msmith@lncharter.org. 

You can follow me on Twitter at @MelAlterSmith and please tweet all the awesome things you are doing in your class with the #TeachLivingPoets hashtag!