Poetry Slam

Slam poetry is a type of performance poetry.

It combines writing, performance, competition, and audience participation.

The poetry is read aloud without props, costumes, or music.

It is evaluated by judges on a scale of 1-10.

It got its name from the fact that the audience has the power to praise (or sometimes destroy) a poem AND from the high-energy performance style of the poets.

Some popular themes of slam poetry are: relationships, politics, religion, insecurity, family issues, social issues, etc.

Sample Poems:

• • "Phenonmenal Woman" (video)

  • "Accents" (video)

  • "Touchscreen" (video)

  • "High School Training Ground" (video)

  • "Justin: A Poem to Autism" (video)

  • "Cody" (video)

  • "You Are Good Enough" (video)

  • Lincoln Middle School (video)

  • The Words and Verbs Middle School Poetry Slam (video)

• "Ode to Pablo's Tennis Shoes"

  • "Learning Between the Lines"

• "Don't Be Afraid to Be You"

• You can also browse through the poetry books Ms. Trapani set aside for you to get some inspiration :)