SLAMbassadors UK

After piloting The Poetry Society’s slam championship in Liverpool last year, SLAMbassadors UK is now nationwide and coming back to the city for more beats and rhymes.

On Saturday 12^th September 2009, The Poetry Society is running two workshops with kind support of the Bluecoat, for young people aged 13-19. Liverpool poet Nikki Blaze and SLAMbassadors Co-ordinator Joelle Taylor will run sessions at the Bluecoat to help you start slammin’. You can write your poem then perform it and be filmed and entered into the competition on the day.

To book your place, email: blast-liverpool@bbc.co.uk.

Places are limited so get in quick!

Khadijah Ibrahiim, Artistic Director of Leeds Young Authors will run a SLAMbassadors workshop:

Friday 14th August, 11am – 2pm

Mandela Centre, Chapeltown Road, Leeds, LS7 3HY

We will be on hand to film your entry for the SLAMbassadors championship for the opportunity to win a workshop with Benjamin Zephaniah and Joelle Taylor and perform live at a prestigious London venue in November!

The workshop is limited so to book a place, email blast-leeds@bbc.co.uk

News just in!

The Shoreditch Trust will be collaborating with the Poetry Society in creating an astounding poetry/spoken word event to kick off their 5 day literature festival in the autumn. We can’t give any more details at the moment – except to say that STAR LIT have commissioned 5 SLAMbassadors to write original performance poems that they will perform at the opening night, alongside major UK poets like Michael Rosen.

This goes a little way toward proving the longevity and sustainability of the SLAMbassadors UK project. It is not about finding and nurturing new poets, then leaving them stuttering on an empty stage – but about our continued support, and continued cultural investment.

And a new generation are coming up! Watch the films over the summer and autumn in your school/youth club/library and select those that you want to win. Follow their progression through the ranks – until they finally hit the stage with tongues running on November 16th 2009.

Can’t think how to get involved? Email Joelle.

Got a poem but no camera? Again, email Joelle and she will film you!

So the first SLAMbassadors workshops have taken place attracting young people from far and wide. Even in the first few slam sessions, it’s clear that this is going to be a tough competition with entries of an incredibly high standard.  Don’t miss the opportunity to get involved with this year’s slam and the chance to win a workshop with Joelle Taylor and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Visit BBC Blast for the rules of slam and watch this space for details of our next workshop. If you need any help at all with your entry or can’t get to any of the workshops, please get in touch with us and we’ll see what we can do to help. Email us for assistance: jtaylor@poetrysociety.org.uk

Entries will be up on the Blast website soon!

The first of the SLAMbassador workshops in association with BBC Blast begin next week!

VENUE: NewVIc – Newham Sixth Form College
LOCATION: Prince Regent Lane, London, E13 8SG
DATE: Thursday 9 July
TIME: 9.30am – 12.45pm

Slam Poetry & Spoken Word

Learn how to make your poems slam and perform on Saturday at the Mayor’s Newham Show. Poetry Society staff will be on hand to film you performing your slam poem and to help you to enter it into the SLAMbassadors UK championship. Places are extremely limited so click here to book now!

→ Watch this space for more workshops throughout the summer in Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool and Salford!