Slam Poetry To Ignite Young Interest

By Eddie Keegan

When we ´talk about ´poetry‚´ many will ´think about Wordsworth‚ Shakespeare or even Burns‚ mostly as a result of the way we study poetry when we are at school܂ Children at school are often ´taught about ´the classics and‚ although we can´t deny ´that ´the classics are fully deserving of ´their place in ´the literary canon‚ it´s common for ´them ´the struggle ´to gain ´the interest of some school children܂

So how can we get youngsters excited about poetry? Well‚ it seems a number of schools in ´the UK might have ´the right idea now܂ The National Schools Slam Poetry competition introduces school children ´to ´the art of performance poetry by holding a nationwide poetry slam annually܂ The poetry performed at slam poetry events ´tends ´to be more edgy‚ modern and allows for a very free style܂ Rhyme and rhythm are often central and ´these are ´the ´types of poems ´that are‚ essentially‚ brought ´to life by being performed܂

For ´the youngsters ´taking part‚ ´the judgement isn´t only based on ´their writing itself܂ In fact‚ ´there´s a general consensus amongst many ´that slam poems often look flat on paper when compared ´to ´their performance܂ But in competitions like ´this‚ much of ´the judgement is based on how well ´the performer brings ´their poem ´to life܂ The performer simply has ´to be able ´to bring ´the meaning of their words ´to ´the audience ´through performance܂ You could argue ´that ´this is far more challenging ´than simply reciting poetry in ´the ´traditional way܂

Performance poetry is proving increasingly popular in ´the USA as well‚ with TV shows such as Def Poetry proving a hit with ´the audience܂ This show in particular has attracted hip hop stars ´to perform ´too‚ such as Kanye West܂ In fact‚ ´there are often comparisons drawn between slam poetry and rap܂

However‚ ´this style of poetry encourages expression through words‚ rhythm and rhyme and ´therefore it cannot be questioned ´that ´this is an excellent creative outlet for youngsters܂ It´s certainly a way ´to drag poetry into ´the 21st century and make it appeal ´to a younger generation܂

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