Slam Poetry
I've been a fan of Slam Poetry for a few years now, and this last year I finally got up the courage to go to one and present my own poem. It's amazingly fun to get involved with, and I think anyone who's interested should try it at least once. This article will share some of the basics on Slam Poetry and some of the techniques that I think are helpful when writing it.
What is "Slam Poetry"?
Slam Poetry or Spoken Word is poetry intended to be shared orally in a Slam Poetry contest. Besides that, there is no official definition for "Slam Poetry" (no slam poetry police out there) so what exactly it is, is a matter of opinion and individual style.
There are some things that distinguish it from your typical poetry however - for instance it is performed orally, without props, and can be 3 minutes or less. The tradition of Slam Poetry grew out of people wanting to reject elitist rules about what poetry "had" to be, this is supposed to be the "people's poetry" that is accessible to write and understand for anyone in the audience.
So, Slam Poetry is whatever you want it to be. Poetry shouldn't be elitist, but can be written and understood by the common person with or without special training. That being said, there are common techniques that Slam Poems tend to use to make their poetry more dynamic. Let's take a look at those, but remember, don't consider these hard and fast rules — just ideas and suggestions!
Common Themes
If you need some help with common themes Slam Poetry addresses, here's a few, but write about whatever truth you would like to communicate. Speak about what speaks to you.
Politics, Race, Oppression, Depression, Anxiety, Culture Critiques, Violence, Family, Relationships, Capitalism, Education, Dreams/Goals, Feminism, Bodily Autonomy, Environment, Justice, Religion, Personal Story or Life Narrative.
Gender:
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