How to get to grips with slam poetry

Did you know that on Instagram, the hashtag #slampoet has nearly 25,000 posts attached to it? The tag is teeming with slam poets of all ages, languages and backgrounds sharing their voices with the world – but what exactly is slam poetry?

Slam poetry is a type of performance poetry (poetry that is performed in front of an audience) that can combine writing, performance, competition and audience participation. Slam poems are designed to be spoken out loud at slam events, where poets compete for audiences and/or judges.

In this article, we’ll cover how to create your own slam poetry, where you can perform it and how to start hosting your own slam poetry events!

Creating your own slam poetry

To start writing your own slam poetry, you first need to find your voice; attempt to write a poem about your day, perhaps focusing on how you felt during the best and worst moments. Embellish your poem using poetic techniques such as metaphor, repetition and onomatopoeia and be sure to read it out loud as you go.

My personal favourite writing tip that I go back to repeatedly comes from author Jodi Picoult, who said: 'You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.'

Despite Jodi referring specifically to writing books, it absolutely applies to poetry as well; by writing something – anything down – it means you can edit it, form your own opinion on it and, over time, harness your own personal style and taste. As slam poetry is meant to be performed in front of an audience, you can edit your work based on the reactions you get when presenting it; think about the response you got versus the one you want to get and alter your slam poetry and/or delivery.

Understanding poetry slams

Slam poetry is performed at poetry slams, competitions that have poets performing their own original work through multiple rounds of performances, solo or in teams. The poetry slam format and structure that we’re familiar with today was first introduced by Marc Smith in 1980s Chicago, but poetry has long been an oral tradition. What's more, the Beat and Negritude poets performing prior to the popularisation of the slam style laid the groundwork for passionate and political poetry gatherings.

Slam performances are often judged on a scale of 1–10 points, with the lowest scoring slam poet/s being eliminated at the end of each round, whilst some poetry slams feature members of the audience being asked to become judges or score as well!

Competing at a poetry slam can be a dynamic experience. For slam poets, having a stage to perform personal work can bring out all sorts of emotions, from worry to excitement, but whether you are participating in your first poetry slam or your hundredth, you are always in the company of other slam poets who have walked in the same shoes as you and understand the courage and practice it takes to get up on stage and give it your absolute all.

Organising your own poetry slams

Now that we’ve covered the basics of slam poetry, let's explore how you could go about creating your own poetry slam. The first thing you’ll want to think about is the format of the poetry slam – will poets be competing solo or in teams? How many rounds will there be and could there be a theme for the slam poetry? You can garner interest on social media by exploring the poetry slam hashtags and joining local poetry groups. If you're a student, why not reach out to your teachers to see if they could help you spread the word?

Once you know how many people want to perform and attend, you can seek out an appropriately sized venue for you to host your poetry slam. Be mindful that some venues, such as bars and pubs, may have age limits on who can enter and at what time. Cafes, libraries and community centres tend to all be equally strong options, with friendly atmospheres and sometimes pre-existing stages. Once the finer details such as dates, times and venue capacity are confirmed, you can share them with the slam poetry community you’re building.

There are various ways to approach creating your own poetry slam. Check out poet Ross McCleary’s tips and tricks for organising your own spoken word event.

The community is filled with so many creative individuals, exciting opportunities and, of course, phenomenal slam poetry. You’ll love it both as a slam poet and as an audience member!

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