This year Goldsmith University launched
their first Spoken Word Education module as part of the Teacher / Writer MA program
and I’ve been lucky enough to be one of the six London Spoken Word poets
piloting it. The other five are Indigo Williams, Keith Jarrett, Dean Atta, Cat
Brogan and Pete The Temp – If you know your Spoken Word poets you’ll be
familiar with these names.
Since September we’ve been going into a
secondary school in East London and leading lessons on poetry and performance
as well as setting up a Spoken Word poetry after school club which had over eighty
sign ups from years 7, 8 and 9.
Peter Kahn
coordinates the program, a teacher at Oak Park and
River Forest High School in Chicago. He runs the largest school-based
spoken word club in the world and is featured in the award-winning documentary
Louder Than a Bomb.
The project
is also partnered by some of the UK’s leading institutions and organisations
such as Apples and Snakes, Avron and Spread the word.
We challenge the idea that “poems are old
fashioned and have to rhyme” and we get students talking and writing from their
personal experiences to generate poetry in their own voices. Many teachers have
already given positive feedback about the impact of having poets in their
school. Some students really open up in their poetry and it can get emotional.
This has been a good way to hear the kids that are calling for help. Ultimately
we have a lot of fun with language, performance games and watching the kids
develop as young poets. We’re all coming across more and more talented young
poets and we call it our mission to nurture talent and give poets higher platforms to aspire to. This will change the landscape of Spoken Word and
poetry for a new generation.
I didn’t discover Spoken Word until I was twenty
but if a quality poet came into my school when I was fourteen I definitely
would have been hooked sooner.
Some of the top Spoken Word Educators in
the country including Jacob Sam La Rose, Simon Mole, Polarbear, Charlie Dark and Hollie
McNish all make a living mentoring young poets and improving the standards of
Spoken Word poetry nationwide.
The more exposure top quality poets receive
the more impact Spoken Word poetry will make as an art form.
If you know of any schools that would be
interested in setting up a Spoken Word Club please contact : mrpkahn@hotmail.com
