As well as debating our Word of Mouth programme consists of teaching performance poetry as a means of getting young people to express their inner workings. Through creative expression, the focus on performance poetry enables young people to redefine their concepts of what they thought poetry was outside of Rhythm & Poetry (Rap).
At Westminster Academy, the students learned about classical poets as diverse as Khalil Gibran, whilst at St Augustine they learned about Poetry Slams, Haiku's and assonance among other things.
This programme will continue for another 18months we will work with other creatives. To date we have worked with 5x Slam Poet champion, Beyonder, songstress Aina and Muslim/Jewish duo Psychosemetic. This year we are working with Joelle Taylor of the Poetry Society and SLAMbassadors' Chris Preddie for our West London Poetry Slam competition. The next 12 months is set to be an intriguing time for the development of this programme. Be sure to check back for updates, contact us for details on how to participate and get Word of Mouth at your school or college or community centre.