Slam poetry
Once upon a time, wealthy noblemen employed bards or minstrels to entertain people with songs, stories and poems.
Today we have slam poetry and spoken word performances. This is poetry performed to a beat and using sound effects and rhythm to enhance the effect of the poem.
Listen to some spoken performance on the 'TED' website at the link below.
- Type 'spoken word performances folded like lyrical origami' into the 'TED' search bar.
- Select from the talks available, or your teacher may direct you to a particular talk.
- Search for and listen to the talk titled 'Become a slam poet in five steps' by Gayle Danley at the TEDEd website at the link below.
Or, your teacher may provide you with other spoken word performances, for example, of Australia's national poetry slam champions CJ Bowerbird and Joe Sri.
Identify and discuss the characteristics of spoken poetry (consider the language and language devices explored earlier) as you view these examples.
- Record these characteristics on the Y chart at the link below.
- Discuss your responses with others.
- Add to your chart as you share responses.
Participate in a class poetry slam: present a monologue or recreate a poem as a spoken word poem using rhythm, beat, body language and sound effects.
- Experiment with rhythm, beat, pace, sound effects and body language, and with language devices and features to enhance your performance.
- Remember: bring the words and feelings to life - make your words sound like music.
