1. Slam Poems
Day 9

2. Today: understand how a dramatic reading can affect tone and meaning
Goals
Focus Questions
understand how a dramatic reading can affect tone and meaning
how to identify the speaker in the poem (understand the nuances between speaker and poet)
How does performance affect the meaning of the written words in a poem?
What is the difference between the speaker in the poem and the poet?

3. More on Slam
One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry during the 1990s, slam has revitalized interest in poetry in performance.
This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, slam was well received among young poets and poets of diverse backgrounds as a democratizing force.
This generation of spoken word poetry is often highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic, and gender injustices as well as current events for subject manner.

4. Slam Poem Examples
Listen to each of the slam poems (and one recitation) and answer the questions that apply to each poem.
2 “Accents” by Denice Frohman:
6 “Can the power of poetry save your soul…and your cells?” by Steve Connell + Sekou Andrews
3 “Touchscreen” by Marshall Davis Jones:
3 “Lost Voices” by Darius Simpson & Scout Bostley:
5 “Mrs. Ribeiro” by Sarah Kay: