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Inquiry Question: How does slam poetry (or spoken word poetry) challenge or update old-school/traditional poetry? How does it make poetry relevant (for certain individuals and groups) in today’s society?
Traditional poetry uses figurative language to express its message, along with a formal structure (such as the sonnet, a popular form in English literature which dates back to the 13th century).
One of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry since the 1990s, slam poetry has revitalized interest in poetry as performance. Poetry began as part of an oral tradition, and this interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America; while many poets in academia found fault with the movement, poetry slams were 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 its subject matter.
A “slam” itself is simply a poetry competition in which poets perform original work alone or in teams before an audience. The work is judged as much on the enthusiasm of its performance as its content or style.
The rubric below is often used to evaluate performances of slam poems at spoken-word performances and slam poetry competitions.
Rubric:
The poem:
Addresses an issue concerning the self and/or society
Has an identifiable theme or hook that frames the story and captivates the audience
Makes use of figurative language: metaphor, simile, alliteration, imagery, “ranting”
Has overall high-quality style and substance
Instructions
The purpose of this assignment is to help you learn to write as a book critic or reviewer, someone who evaluates the worth of a text (such as a book, film, or album) and presents a clear argument about why their view of the text is valid and significant. This will not be as simple as claiming “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it.” In the review, you will have to establish a premise (a general statement) from which you will evaluate a slam poem. That is, before making a claim about the worth of a slam poem, you will have to make a claim about what, generally, makes for a successful poem or song. Having established that, you can make a claim about how well—or poorly—this particular poem achieves your criteria for success.
Tasks: Explain what you believe a successful poem or song should do, the criteria that lead you to conclude that a poem or song is worthy of our time and understanding. Then write a review of one of the slam poems below after viewing each of them; briefly summarize the poem’s major themes or concerns, and then assess whether the poem meets your criteria for success. Cite a few quotes from the poem to support your evaluation.
Tips:
Start by mentioning the criteria you are using to evaluate a poem, and then evaluate the particular slam poem according to this criteria. The criteria could be anything: such as whether a poem is original, thought-provoking, entertaining, or engaged with current debates in our society. You will select the criteria that matter the most to you and then evaluate the poem based on this.
Be creative, original, and honest. Don’t be afraid to take risks with the content or the style of your writing.
Here is a list of criteria you can use to evaluate the poem; feel free to use one of these premises, or come up with your own:
Social: What should a work of literature convey to its audience about the role of the individual in society?
Aesthetic: What makes a work of literature an object of artistic “beauty”?
Moral: To what degree and how should literature instruct people on how to behave morally? What sort of moral instruction should be found in literature?
Political: To what degree should a work of literature engage in politics? What types of political messages should it convey and how should it convey them?
Originality: To what degree should a work of literature convey a new idea, thought, or experience to its audience?
Verisimilitude: To what degree should a work of literature accurately represent real-life experience?
Entertainment: Should a work of literature entertain its audience? What makes a work of literature entertaining?
Poems (choose one to review; links to all poems are below):
Twin Poets, “Dreams are Illegal in the Ghetto”
“Dreams are Illegal in the Ghetto” Links to an external site.

Length: 2 paragraphs, single-spaced, typed, 12 point font and 1” margins.