Slam Poetry

     Slam Poetry is a term that many people have heard, but maybe do not understand. It is not the same as regular poetry in that it may sound a lot more like a speech than a poem. Slam poetry may be based on a number of different topics and usually resembles free verse poetry, but may also have a rhyme scheme. The most widely known slam poet is probably Shane Koyczan, a poet from Penticton, B.C. who performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Another poet who may not be as famous as Koyczan but equally as talented is Suli Breaks, a slam poet from the U.K. Breaks is best known for his slam poem "I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate". Katie Makkai, a medical death examiner from Denver, Colorado, wrote an inspiring poem about the concept of the word "pretty".

     Shane Koyczan's poem, "To This Day", is featured around the notion of bullying. Throughout the poem he maintains a very serious, inspiring tone as he encourages people who have been bullied in their youth to ignore the hate that people have bestowed on them and mend their self confidence. Koyczan explains that he too was bullied, but he was "not the only kid who grew up [that] way. Surrounded by people who used to say that rhyme about sticks and stones as if broken bones hurt more than the names [they] were called." He tells the tales of him and other kids he knew who were bullied in his small town, but finishes the poem telling people who have been bullied that if they "can't see anything beautiful about [themselves to] get a better mirror... because there's something inside of [them] that made [them] keep trying despite everyone who told [them] to quit."

     The self-explanatory title, "I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate", makes it quite clear that Suli Breaks intends to persuade the listener that there is something wrong with the education system. He uses stories of a few different adolescents in a rhythmic manner as he questions the methods of the school board in enforcing exams. "We all have different abilities, thought processes, experiences and genes, so why is a class full of individuals tested by the same means?", he questions the audience. He uses the poem to convince young people that they are not incompetent simply because they did not excel on a certain exam. Breaks is clearly quite confident about the matter and uses irony as well as seriousness to prove his point that one "can't let society tell [them] who [they] are".

     Another aspiring slam poet, Katie Makkai, is known for performing a poem dedicated to her future daughter. She uses the poem to indicate how ridiculous it is that females strive to be pretty their entire lives when "pretty" is just a five letter word. The poem, appropriately named "Pretty", tells Makkai's story of putting herself through plastic surgery so that she could be what her and her mother always wanted: a beautiful girl. She goes on to explain that when her future daughter approaches her, "already stung-stayed with insecurity, begging, 'Mom, will I be pretty?'...[she] will... answer no" and instead tell her daughter that she will be "pretty intelligent, pretty creative, pretty amazing, but [she] will never be merely pretty". The moral of this poem is clearly to encourage girls to be less concerned with their outward appearance and more concerned with their personalities.

     All three of the poems have positive messages and seem to all be targeted at young people and their insecurities. Slam poetry is a rising trend among teenagers and if they choose to listen to optimistic poems such as these, they could have a beneficial impact on their outlook on themselves and life.