What's Slam Poetry?
To explain what Slam Poetry is, allow me to draw from an LSLP Micro-Paper I wrote back in 2015:
Slam Poetry is a genre of poetry (highly influenced by urban expressions such as hip-hop and rap) that is closely related to performance or spoken poetry. The first performances took place in bars and clubs in cities such as Chicago and New York during the 1980s. Since the last decade, Slam Poetry gained mainstream notoriety, in part thanks to HBO’s TV show Def Poetry (produced by Russell Simmons).
One important distinction between Slam Poetry and other forms of poetry is the intensity of topics and the value of the actual performance. The performances in Slam Poetry are deeply emotional, with poets not being afraid to let their true feelings, whether sadness, rage, frustration, or utter happiness transpire. This intensity is a factor that has given Slam Poetry both its distinction from traditional forms of poetry and a niche among today’s urban youth.
Topics in slam poems are always linked to personal issues impacting the performers’ lives: race, minority status, politics, or sexual orientation, to name a few, have been fixtures among amateur and professional slam poets. Education and writing have also appeared as topics, as in the case of the work of school teacher turned Slam Poet Taylor Mali. (Mora, 2015, Defining the Term)
Why try Poetry in Class?
Instead of telling you why you should consider this, I'll let some of my students who tried writing slam poetry tell you in their own voices:
Laura Isaza ( 2014)
Juan Manuel Estrada (2014)
Tyrone Steven Orrego (2014)
Sara Uribe (2014)
María Alejandra Gómez (2014)
Tatiana Salazar Patiño (2014)
Some samples from the pros
Slam Poetry Legend Saul Williams - Coded Language
Asian-American Slam Poet Beau Sia - Give Me a Chance
Legendary African-American Poet Nikki Giovanni - Talk to Me, Poem, I Think I've Got the Blues
Latinx Slam Poet Carlos Andrés Gómez - Juan Valdez
Latinx Slam Poet Denice Frohman - Accents
Irish Slam Poet Hollie McNish - Mathematics
My forays into Slam Poetry in my classrooms
I learned about slam poetry, just like I learned so many other things as an educator, when I was a doctoral student at my beloved alma mater, the University of Illinois. If my memory doesn't fail me, I think it was my mentor and final adviser, Prof. Willis, who showed me What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali.
I fell in love with the genre right then! So much so that I actually used to show that poem to all my undergrads in my classes at the end of the term!
When I came back to Colombia, I thought this would be a great idea to implement in my classes. My first attempt took place in 2011, when I was teaching a conversation class. The capstone project for this course was to compose and perform a slam poem. We ended the course holding a slam poetry festival, where all students had the chance to perform and share very intimate, up close and personal moments through their poems. I will share some highlights from this session in the slideshow below:
When I came back to Colombia, I thought this would be a great idea to implement in my classes. My first attempt took place in 2011, when I was teaching a conversation class. The capstone project for this course was to compose and perform a slam poem. We ended the course holding a slam poetry festival, where all students had the chance to perform and share very intimate, up close and personal moments through their poems. I will share some highlights from this session in the slideshow below:
Despite the initial success of this activity, I hadn't had another chance to elaborate on it until 2014. That year, I taught the course "Communicative Competence V". A transition course as a result of the curricular transformation at the School of Education and Pedagogy, this course afforded me a golden chance to bring back slam poetry.
This time, instead of the live performance, I decided to have the students record their poems. They had multiple chances, including performing live, reading the poem (à la Saul Williams), or using video editors to play the text. The one thing that was non-negotiable, however, was the spoken performance. They all had to speak!
I will say no more, as I think that once you hear the slam poems in this YouTube playlist, you'll be amazed as I was when I heard them.
This time, instead of the live performance, I decided to have the students record their poems. They had multiple chances, including performing live, reading the poem (à la Saul Williams), or using video editors to play the text. The one thing that was non-negotiable, however, was the spoken performance. They all had to speak!
I will say no more, as I think that once you hear the slam poems in this YouTube playlist, you'll be amazed as I was when I heard them.
I am still doing slam poetry as a classroom assignment. This time with my students in #MATLUPB. Why slam poetry in a teaching methods class, you wonder? It's simple: Slam poetry has the potential and the power to have my preservice teachers face their own fears as language users. I have learned that I am blessed to teach that class and to share so much with those students. I want them to tell the world all the stories they are hiding and slam poetry has proven to be a very good start.
Once again, prepare to be amazed with the power in these young teachers' voices!
Once again, prepare to be amazed with the power in these young teachers' voices!
After all these years doing slam poetry with my students, all I can say is: It's totally worth it! I'm sure I'll keep finding ways to replicate this as long as I'm working with preservice teachers.
If you want to know more about this experience, just contact me!
If you want to know more about this experience, just contact me!