Slam Poetry Workshop

On the 9th August 2016, seven students namely- Sangeet Khanna, Sakshi Singh, Bhavika Sharma, Vatsala Banerjee, Harshita Babbar, Surabhi Sanghi and Aanchal Juneja accompanied by Ms. Vandana Misra headed to Springdales School, Pusa Road to attend a workshop on Slam Poetry.

On the way the students discussed books and authors, reliving the works of authors that filled our childhoods with great bedtime stories and novels which continue to be our best friends. These conversations acted as a prelude to the workshop.

On reaching the venue we were asked to be seated in the auditorium. The workshop was conducted by Ikenna Onyegbula from Canada who is the 2014 World Poetry Slam Champion, 2014 Poet of Honour and a four time Canada. National Poetry Slam Champion along with Kyle Louw, an internationally recognised spoken- word poet from South Africa. The workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Delhi Poetry Slam.

The first part of the workshop was conducted by Ikenna Onyegbula. He kickstarted the workshop by dramatising one of his pieces. The performance was mesmerising and was appreciated by all. A few exercises were also performed to up the energy of the room. The speaker then spoke about how poetry has evolved over the years and how simple it can be to write verse. He emphasised that all of us have a weird inside us which can be persuaded out with verse. He gave us a list of six words- rhythm, monsoon, love, revolution, mother and wall, and thereafter asked us to compose a poem using any four. These little poems were then shared with everyone who had by then learned to be empathetic listeners!

The workshop ended with focusing on the importance of connectivity and performing exercises to increase the connection within individuals in the room. After a quick break, the second part of the workshop with Kyle Louw began. He performed two of his pieces, which left a mark on the audience. He talked of masks that everyone wears, which must be removed while writing. He said we must not fight our feelings but become aware of them and learn to accept ourselves. He believed in calming one self instead of Ikennas mantra of energising everyone. Thus, a few calming exercises were performed after which we were instructed to think and then share our artistic statements. The workshop ended with us noting and then sharing our biggest fears and trying to overcome the same.

A vote of thanks followed, after which we informally interacted with Ikenna and Kyle. It was an enlightening experience for everyone who attended the workshop.

Aanchal Juneja, 12-C.