Poetry+Slam+2011

On Friday you will share with the world what life was like as a Lowell Mill Girl. It will be presented Poetry Slam style to a live audience. It will be the finest, most bold, most impressive thing you have done this year. It can be written in any style of poetry ( [|51 Types of Poetry] ). The major difference between regular poetry and poetry slam poems is that a slam poem is written specifically to be read out loud by its author for an audience.

The following two questions and answers are from poetryslam.com ** What is poetry slam? ** Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it. ** What are the rules? ** Though rules vary from slam to slam, the basic rules are: Each poem must be of the poet's own construction Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. The poet may not use props, costumes or musical instruments Duets and triplets are allowed as long as each member contributes equally to the poem. [|Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz], slam poet and author of // Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam // , was quoted in an interview on the Best American Poetry blog as saying: One of the more interesting end products (to me, at least) of this constant shifting is that poets in the slam always worry that something -- a style, a project, a poet -- will become so dominant that it will kill the scene, but it never does. Ranting hipsters, freestyle rappers, bohemian drifters, proto-comedians, mystical shamans and gothy punks have all had their time at the top of the slam food chain, but in the end, something different always comes along and challenges the poets to try something new. ** [] ** Best American Poetry Blog:
 * Are team pieces allowed? **

//**__ Monday __**// Look over the resources, and get a general understanding of what life was like as one of the girls. Start to generate ideas for your poem. Develop an engaging opening question that you are going to ask the audience before you start your slam poem. You are going to look straight into the camera and blast that question into the audience’s body and then slam them with your poem.

//**__ Tuesday __**// Research only! Your poem must be based on research, no “person off the street” poems. You must have a minimum of at least one page of notes in order to start, and at least two pages of notes to complete you poem. You notes must be focused on answering your question.

//**__ Wednesday __**// Day dream, write, imagine, write some more, build with words a slam poem that will leave your audience in a trance. Think about what emotion you will convey—and then slam it. Don’t just rhyme a bunch of facts, respect your audience by giving them a performance they will remember. Being loud isn’t important. Being bold is.

//**__ Thursday __**// Complete your poem. Your poem must be practiced, it must be felt. It must be internalized. Your body must deliver it, not your mouth. Find a mirror and look yourself in the eye and deliver your poem. Record yourself and listen…and then record yourself again. You may have fear when you walk up to the stage, but you will have confidence when you deliver your words because you will be ready. You will have pictured yourself on the stage slamming your poem, and then you will walk off a changed person.

//**__ Friday __**// Slam Bam Thank you ma’am. Your name is called. You walk up to the camera with pride, with power, you will be bold. You turn, face the camera and deliver your question to your audience. You are bold…they feel it. No one can look away, they hang on your every word. You voice is loud, soft, fast, slow…no matter the tone, no matter how big the words, your poem just flows. One minute, two minutes, no more than three…when you are done, your audience will be momentarily speechless, followed by cheers of “yeah baby!”

Girls Lending Pens []

Knock Knock []

Like Totally Whatever []

Little Kids []

8th Grader []

Angry Teen []

Hands []

Can’t Read [] Sarah Kay [] []