Bell Work: In journals or as a blog post write about your thoughts about slam poetry. Is it real poetry? Remember our essential question for the whole semester: What is poetry?
Essential Question: Is performance/slam poetry considered true poetry, or is it it's own genre? Has traditional poetry evolved into something more? (or less?)
Work Time
1. We will read an article (or two) together.
2. Listen to a slam piece (or two) together.
3. Discuss
4. Try to write our own slam.
5. Continue to explore internet resources *at the appropriate time!
Closure
Discussion about essays/questions
Wednesday: Wear pink. Circle of love moved. Come with something to read.
More info on SLAM POETRY (from Ms. Gamzon's blog!)
www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5672
My Words Consume Me:
youthspeaks.org/voice/2011/05/17/my-words-consume-me-free-download/
Wikipedia entry:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam
Spoken word:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoken_word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events.[1]
My Words Consume Me:
youthspeaks.org/voice/2011/05/17/my-words-consume-me-free-download/
Wikipedia entry:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_slam
Spoken word:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoken_word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events.[1]
In entertainment, spoken word performances generally consist of storytelling or poetry, exemplified by people like Hedwig Gorski, the originator of performance poetry, the lengthy monologues by Spalding Gray, and improvising ranters/commentators like Henry Rollins.
my thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh3f9Uhhdoo
ReplyDeleteSlam poetry is poetry, it’s in the name. Although at one time it wasn't considered “high art”, the same could be said for free verse and confessional poetry when they first became prevalent. There is kick back from anything that is new and different. However, as time elapses those who are afraid of change and innovation adapt and the young industrious minds who created the new scary thing become the old, conservative people who get to decide what is “high art”, so the cannon shifts to those people’s tastes. The evolution of poetry is constant and necessary-- otherwise we’d all still be writing epics.
ReplyDeleteI like Mr. Gracer's old commentary about rap, I feel it likewise applies to Slam poetry as well. No, Slam Poetry is not "poetry", by simple definition, there are differences between the two forms. That doesn't mean slam/rap/tap dancing/dog painting isn't good by discrediting it as actual poetry, at least by its foremost definition.
ReplyDeleteThe word "poetry" is often used as a qualifier for whether a genre that's not poetry is meaningful, and I wish a new adjective for well thought and beautiful work would come into practice. So I'll make one - Domiric. There.
your face is domiric
DeleteI thinks slam isn't necessarily the next link in the evolutionary chain of Poetry, but I do think that it is a very important part of the Poetry family. You can trace the roots of slam poetry from the very beginning of the spoken word (Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet can be taken as one, really long, slam poem in iambic pentameter). There are certain poets that believe their poetry is meant to be spoken and there are some who believe that it should just sit on a page and be pretty; but Slam is all about the former of those two. Where as all poems have a kind of rhythm, Slam relies on it. These poems are meant to be heard (have you ever tried to read a slam poem without having heard it deliverd? It's not very fun) which makes it seem like the crazy, loud little sibbling of the kind of 'poetry' we've been writing for years. It is very interesting to see an art form that has evolved so closely with the English language (along with other ones around the world). Since this kind of poetry is meant to be a bit more accessible to any audience new words or sayings make their way into Slam pieces much faster than any other form of poetry.
ReplyDeleteI think that Poetry has a pretty loose definition. Just because something is poetry, that doesn't mean it's good. All it means is that it's poetry and not an apple. I'm not particularly a fan of slam poems, I think they all apply basically the same presentation to whatever they're talking about. I'm fine with a reader being passionate about their poem, but slam poetry is a but much. A lot of it sounds really similar, and I'm sure there's some good stuff there, but I'm not into it.
ReplyDeleteSlam poetry, no other way to simply put it, is poetry. (hence the second part of its name) Music has its genres but when it comes down to it, it is still music. I think of Slam poetry like that. I would never consider it more or less, for the simple fact that everyone has their own preferences. People who listen to classical music or opera might see that as a higher art form of music rather than someone who listens to metal or jazz. But even looking at techniques, yes they are very extremely different but it is all a matter of preference.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my (favorite) older brother was always very much into the arts, multi-talented as he is he is a visual artist, dancer and poet. He always kept journals and I remember the first time I heard him perform one of his pieces. I was in awe. I became obsessed and he got me really hooked onto Def Jam at a young age. So that's why I hold it in such high esteem.