After two frantic months touring London and Liverpool schools seeking emerging spoken word talent, the SLAMbassadorsUK 08 championship has now screeched to a halt!! The championship is no longer open for entries as of this very minute. Not all of the poetry/ rap/ emcee dvd’s have been uploaded to the site yet but they will all be active for you to enjoy and shout along to by Christmas.
We have had an incredible time on tour, met some dynamic writers and inspiring performers - and are now ready to get judging. The poet Dorothea Smartt will be viewing our shortlists from her Barbados base, and making the final cut. Twelve new London acts/ poets will be selected to spit it out at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall stage on 4 February 2009. Twelve Liverpool slammers will be invited to a semi-final in their own city at the beginning of March.
Thank you to all the teachers, youth leaders, parents and supporters of the young poets and spoken word artists who took up the challenge to create an original piece of writing in a day and film it. Most of all, we want to thank the young poets/ rappers themselves for taking a risk - and showing their cultural and artistic courage.
You will see some incredible material on the site - ranging from pieces about gun/ knife crime, to normal every day life, to the tracing of roots and on through to sexual abuse - in short, anything that fixes a person’s identity and their sense of themselves.
Sadly, some of the films have not been permitted on to YouTube. This has been for no other reason than to protect the children in the films, and it is not a decision that The Poetry Society has taken lightly but at the request of the school.
So: big up to all of you from the both of us. We hope to see London slammers on the 4 February whether you’re on the stage or in the auditorium. You have our attention now.
Islington Central Library
2 Fieldway Crescent
London N5 1PF
Islington Central Library will play host to the Poetry Society’s SLAMbassadors UK project.
Joelle Taylor will lead workshops to develop writing and performance at the Library between 5-7pm on Thursday 4 December, and on Sunday 7 December between 2-4pm, the pieces will be filmed for the competition.
Twelve performers will be selected by professional judges and the public on the website, and will appear in a semi-final at the South Bank Centre on 4 February 2009. Four winners will be chosen from the semi-final to showcase their work in April alongside established performance artists.
“The slam exposed me to other poets of the same age and gave me the platform to perform in front of an audience. Coming in to the slam at the age of 16 was the first time I had read out my writing and the enthusiasm and support I got from the other participants pushed me to keep writing and performing. Off the back of the slam I was booked for my first professional gig and have been performing my work regularly since then. If you want to take your work off the page, this slam is one of the best places to learn the craft”.
“It gave me confidence and taught me lots of valuable lessons as a writer and on a more personal level. When I am surrounded by other poets and spoken word artists I become more creative, determined and active so it helped me in that respect too. To top it off my CV looks great because of what I did during and after as a result of the Slam! If it wasn’t for that I might not have got into university”.
Posted by poetryclassinset
Posted by poetryclassinset
Posted by poetryclassinset
