Creating our own Slam Poetry

Each person in our class will create a poem that they want to read aloud with meaning and feeling. We've seen what others can do and now it is time to try it for ourselves. Our final assignment for this portion or poetry will be to create and display our work for the class. I'll be doing the assignment right alongside you. The poem can be about anything you want and you have free reign as far as how you want to design it. We'll be breaking into small groups throughout to try and help others and to read your poems to your groups to get practice in before we present to the class. Have fun with this, don't stress out. If you have any questions or concerns you can post them to the blog or ask me in class.

It is possible, here are some high school students reading their own words so it has been done before. Explore yourself and find something you feel truly passionate about, something that can give your words more than just text on paper. Make it come to life!

Kanye West - Self Concious

Notice how Kanye stumbles through parts of his lyrical story. It's a style, it's ok to not be completely sure of yourself all the time. His identity is shaped by what he is wearing and how people see him. What shapes your life? Is it your clothes, music, friends, athletics, academics, job etc...? What makes you who you are? Are you trapped in a consumerist world? Kanye talks of how we buy things we don't need, are you also trying to keep up with a material self that isn't really all its cracked up to be? Voice your opinion of what Kanye is talking about along with a few lines that stuck out to you.

Songs as Spoken Word

Even a song can be spoken word poetry. Now don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to sing a song for us, but I want you to think about how even songs can be poetry. Every song you hear has poetic verse to it - rap, country, punk, heavy metal - they all have meaning and more depth than you might think. In the comments, find a song that you can relate to and discuss the words as poetry. Find a song that you can really relate to or that speaks to you in some way. We will be doing an assignment with the lyrics of your song so be sure to bring one copy of the words to class.

Sarah Kay - Hands

Write down a poem that has personal connection to someone in your life. Sarah Kay has a connection with her hands and how they relate to her father. What is something that reminds you of someone close to you and how do they relate? It doesn't have to be a body part, it can be a comic book or an action figure or even a tv show that you watch with someone. We will be sharing in small groups and editing these poems in class.

Saul Williams "Sha-Clack-Clack"

Read through this poem and find some lines that stand out to you. Think about what Saul Williams is trying to convey through this poem and then listen to how he says it. Does his tone and mood change how you thought it was going to sound? Listen to it a couple times as it isn't very long and write how you feel about his words and how he says them.

Saul WIlliams - Sha-Clack-Clack

If I could find the spot where truth echoes
I would stand there and whisper memories of my children's future
I would let their future dwell in my past
so that I might live a brighter now
Now is the essence of my domain and it contains
all that was and will be
And I am as I was and will be because I am and always will be
that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that nigga
I am that timeless nigga that swings on pendelums like vines
through mines of boobytrapped minds that are enslaved by time
I am the life that supersedes lifetimes, I am
It was me with serpentine hair and a timeless stare
that with immortal glare turned mortal fear into stone time capsules
They still exist as the walking dead, as I do
The original sulphurhead, symbol of life and matriarchy
severed head Medusa, I am
I am that nigga
I am that nigga!
I am that nigga!!
I am a negro! Yes negro, negro from _necro_ meaning death
I overcame it so they named me after it
And I be spitting at death from behind
and putting "Kick Me" signs on it's back
because I am not the son of Sha-Clack-Clack
I am before that, I am before
I am before before
Before death is eternity, after death is eternity
There is no death there's only eternity
And I be riding on the wings of eternity
like HYAH! HYAH! HYAH! Sha-Clack-Clack
but my flight doesn't go undisturbed
Because time makes dreams defer
And all of my time fears are turning my days into daymares
And I live daymares reliving nightmares
of what taunted my past
Sha-Clack-Clack, time is beatin my ass
And I be havin dreams of chocolate covered watermelons
Filled with fried chickens like pinatas
With little pickaninny sons and daughters
standing up under them with big sticks and aluminum foil
Hittin em, tryin to catch pieces of fallin fried chicken wings
And Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben are standing in the corners
with rifles pointed at the heads of the little children
"Don't shoot the children," I shout, "don't shoot the children!"
but they say it's too late
They've already been infected by time
But that shit is before my time
I need more time
I need more time
But it's too late
They start shooting at children and killing them!
One by one, two by two, three by three, four by four
Five by five, six by six, but
my spirit is growing seven by seven
Faster than the speed of light
Cause light only penetrates the darkness that's already there
and I'm already there
I'm here at the end of the road
which is the beginning of the road beyond time, but
where my niggaz at? (Oh shit!)

Oh shit, don't tell me my niggaz got lost in time
My niggaz are dying before their time
My niggaz are serving unjust time
My niggaz are dying because of.. time

Lamont Carey "I Can't Read"

What do you think of the message that Lamont Carey is talking about? His dreams were shattered when he broke his leg, his families dreams were destroyed and now without his athletics, he doesn't know the basics of reading, writing and spelling. Who is to blame for these failings? Is it the collective fault of the teachers, aids, board of education, parents and the students? In the comments answer how you feel about Lamont's situation and if you feel the need write a couple lines of poetry to respond. It isn't required, but if the mood strikes you that free verse would voice your opinion then go for it.

Poetry and the Spoken Word

Watch the following clip and comment on how it makes you feel. What line(s) stand out most to you. Can you connect to anything that he is talking about? Do you think the poem read aloud has more meaning because the author is reading it or do you think it should stand alone as a written work?

For example I'd respond to this poetry jam by saying that Taylor Mali is attempting to sway an audience to make more assertive statements within society. Specifically he is talking about the youth of today and how they don't seem to want to take a stand on any issues for fear of sticking out and not being part of the normal group.

"Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?"

Those lines point out how people fear to make opinions about what they have been studying, reading, listening to etc... Why can't we as a society embrace the idea of really standing up for ourselves and saying that we have a voice?

This is what I'm challenging you to do throughout this unit. Make your individual voice heard and express your opinions. When responding to the posts try to not generalize, take a stance on what you've heard and argue your point of view. This will help you when we write our own poetry later too. Trust me, I have a plan for us, you just have to ride the waves with me.

Taylor Mali - "Totally like whatever, you know?"

In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences - so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like . . .
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.