I would like to focus on slam poetry. While I’m not sure exactly what to write about, though it does have to relate to my core educational beliefs; that everyone has their learning style, and teachers need to try their hardest to adapt and give students the ability to learn, regardless on how they do so, I know I have to make an impact because every slam poetry reading I have seen leaves a lasting impression on me.
I remember when I first found slam poetry a few years ago scrolling through social media. It was actually this video, but a shorter version of it. I then started diving into the world of slam poetry. I feel like slam poetry is more different than any type of creative writing because while most types of written art are just read, slam poetry is performed. It’s like if someone was to take the poetic essence of Shakespeare or Poe, but take out all of the Old English aspects and create it into something everyone can understand.
While I have dipped my toes into writing poetry and just writing multiple times in my personal time and through classes in my educational career, I feel like slam poetry is completely out of my element. While I have always found it exciting, I’ve never understood how people are able to do something like this; being able to stand up in front of a large group of people and perform the words they spent hours hunched over paper or a computer screen. They are putting on a show, opening their heart and connection with their audience. For me, I find that absolutely terrifying. I hate standing in front of people, performing in front of people, letting people know my thoughts and feelings. While fiction is different, I can expand my ideas and lay pieces of me into it, weave a story that’s not recognizable to me but still create a world people can fall into, slam poetry is my words and my experiences. Slam poetry is competitive in many cases, or so I understand, but it is also a way for people to express their feelings and opinions to an open-minded audience.
Many of my favorite slam poets-Neil Hilborn, Sarah Kay, Blythe Blaird, and Savannah Brown to name a few- have also created books for their poetry so audiences can read more of their work. I find their work beautiful. I love how their work is about real, personal events in their lives and that it can be performed on stage or read quietly in a nook. Watching them gives me inspiration, and while my work won’t be like theirs, since mine is twisted around education, it does put a little ease on my mind to know somewhat what I’m doing. It gives me a path to go down at least.
But I still have no idea how I’m going to bring it to life. A video? Probably best bet. A book? Many have them, but I highly doubt I can get something like that printed in time. I also have to write poetically.