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Spoken word poetry is very popular and there are a number of well-known spoken word poets.

As well as winning poetry awards, spoken word poet Kae Tempest has also been nominated for music awards including a Brit Award and the Mercury Music Prize.

It took poet Hollie McNish a year of attending spoken word poetry nights before she felt brave enough to speak herself. Now videos of McNish’s home-recorded poems have received millions of views.

Slam poetry, or spoken word poetry, is an art form that allows the poet to get across their point of view and express their emotions using the power of words, rhythm and rhyme.

Key learning points

• What is slam poetry used for?
• How to write slam poetry
• How to perform slam poetry

The term ‘slam poetry’ was coined in the 1980s in Chicago, where jazz clubs began hosting spoken word contests involving five poets who would ‘face off’ against one another.

Currently, there are European and World Cup slam competitions that are entered by spoken word poets from all over the world.

What does slam poetry sound like?

Slam poetry is also called spoken word poetry – and the clue is in the names. The idea is that the human voice becomes an instrument and through that instrument an idea is articulated using volume, pitch, accents, sounds, pace and rhyme.

Some spoken word poets use their bodies as well to add sounds such as tapping their feet, or patting parts of their body to make a human drum. Others speak in different voices and ‘play’ different parts.

Spoken word poets often use rhythms from rap, hip-hop, folk music, reggae, dub and jazz as well as traditional story-telling and improvisation in their performances.

Whatever the choices, spoken word poets have one thing in common – their aim to communicate a powerful point of view.

Spoken word poetry works best when the topic is something that evokes, or creates, emotions in the listeners.

This happens when you, as the poet, feel strongly about the topic.

If you are angry, the poem should express that, and the listeners will feel it. If you are saddened, the poem should express that, and again the listeners will feel that too.

Often the most powerful topics to bring about such strong emotions are linked to politics and protest.

When we feel strongly about something, especially when it involves inequality or injustice, then we can stand up and express ourselves with passion and drive.

Unlike other closed forms of poetry, spoken word poetry doesn’t have to rhyme.

In spoken word poetry, often it’s better to have the rhyme in unexpected and different places to add emphasis to the key points you want to get across.

Assonance doesn’t need to happen at the end of lines – it can happen within and throughout the poem. For example:

I sit back to relax
but the fact that you’re back
means I feel
like I’m trapped and I’m under attack

If you read the above aloud you will hear the assonance in a hard ‘a’ sound. Also, in the middle of the line, the shift to ‘means I feel’ brings an ‘e’ sound into the line, which adds a new rhythm.

Half-rhyme is really helpful in spoken word poetry. Sometimes you’ll want to use a phrase or word that isn’t easy to rhyme directly. Half-rhyme or near-rhymes allow you to get past this problem. For example:

• Counter – about her
• Suspect – enough left
• Belief – we grieve

• Adding assonance and mixing up when you change the vowel sound will automatically provide a rhythm.
• Repetition is also a big part of rhythm – having a key line, word, image or sound that you repeat gives a rhythm to the poem's structure.
• Alliteration can also add rhythm to your poetry. Using the same letter or sound at the start of numerous words in a row or in a space of time creates a rhythm of its own.

Plosives

Plosive sounds are ‘hard’ sounds that involve forcing air out of your mouth and usually involve putting your lips together, or closing part of your mouth.

Plosives include ‘t’, ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘d’, and the hard ‘c’ and ‘g’ sounds. Plosive words can be used to create a forceful tone or for emphasis.

Softer sounds like ‘s’ or a soft ‘c’ (like in certain) can be soothing or sometimes even sinister.

Pace

Think about which parts of your poem you want to speed up or slow down.

• Speeding up a moment could give it a sense of panic, anger, or excitement.
• Slowing down a moment could give it a sense of frustration, boredom, or sadness.

Volume

• Speaking more loudly will help your audience understand your point of view very clearly.
• Speaking more softly will make the audience really listen – this is when you can deliver a killer line or your main ‘secret’ that you want them to know. Deliver it quietly, almost in a whisper.
• Starting with volume is often most effective.
• Sometimes ending on a quiet tone can be very effective.

Use gesture and facial expressions to physically show the tone and meaning behind your words. Your body is just as important as your voice when you are performing.

If your tone is shy, your movements should be small and shy. If you’re being loud and dramatic, your movements should be big and dramatic. If you’re being sarcastic, use your facial expressions or hand gestures to make sure the audience understand this.

Annunciation

Annunciating, or saying every word clearly, is important in spoken word poetry because every word adds to the sound and meaning of the poem.

Often spoken word poetry involves a flow of emotion which can mean words are spoken fast and passionately. If the words are unclear, the audience will not be able to understand the meaning and much of the impact of the poem will be lost.

• Step 1 – Choose a topic that you are passionate about.
  • Make sure the topic is something you care about; this will give power to your ideas and your point of view.
• Step 2 – Write the gateway line.
  • The gateway line is the central idea in your poem – it tells the listeners your main point of view.
  • Starting with this gives you a clear purpose and you can spend the rest of the poem expanding on that one point.
• Step 3 – Mind mapping
  • Creating a mind map can really help organise your ideas and your argument and see which ideas link to which in order to organise your poem.

Here is an example: