Slammin’ Poets is a regional Spoken Word youth poetry program where high school aged youth meet monthly in their local communities to learn, create, experience and share their own creative expression with others. Each local group or “collective” has an experienced professional mentor that can provide feedback and mentorship in a structured, judgement free, environment to hopefully encourage personal growth.
In addition to scheduled meetings Slammin’ Poets also attend professional poetry venues where they are exposed to the work of experienced poets and they also have opportunities to perform their own poetry for their communities in local venues. Supplementing their mentorship is additional coaching from a virtual coach that provides bi-weekly exercises, online interviews, and constructive criticism. The program culminates in an optional poetry slam tournament in April where individuals and teams compete with their best poetry performances in front of live audiences and professional judges.
When:
Slammin coincides with the school year, beginning in the early fall, and concluding in April.
Where:
Currently, you can find Slammin at these locations:
- A safe way for young adults to work on their self-expression, creativity, confidence, and public speaking.
- Access to a network of qualified Professional Poets that will provide both virtual and in-person classes for their students to help identify and elevate their artistic form and expression.
- One time with a virtual coach with the lesson of that week
- Another time with a professional poet to expound upon the lesson and give direct and personal attention
An example of the trainings:
- What inspires you?
- Memorization Techniques
- Emotive language- How to Use It Effectively
- How to move the crowd
- The 5 Senses
- Write what you know
Monthly Poetry Jams: Individual clubs will meet up and get to perform their work monthly in front of peers and poets, which will improve their confidence and public speaking. Professional poets will provide feedback in private directly to the students to identify areas to work on and encourage improvement.
April Madness: To celebrate National Poetry Month Championship tournament; have a bracket of teams that compete, with one winning team, and individual awards.
Slammin’ Events
Celebrate your club’s activity by getting involved in:
- Monthly Slammin Meetups
- Slammin Video Contest
Follow Slammin on Facebook and YouTube to find more opportunities to get involved.