The Poetry Room

Category: Poetry Slam

  • (VIDEO) To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter

    (VIDEO) To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter

    A Father Makes His Threat Pretty Clear!

    This is a great poem that every parent should watch and every guy about to date a girl for the first time! It’s funny, it’s sweet and I don’t think it’s meant to be taken entirely too seriously.

    In this clip, the tattooed, scowling writer recites, “To the boys who may one day date my daughter: I have been waiting for you. Since before her birth, since before my spark* took hold and ignited the fire in her mother’s belly, I have been training to kill you.”

    The message later became a moving tribute to the unbreakable love he has for his daughter and the general awe he feels about raising a human being.

    It’s the universal message of a father’s love for his daughter that has caused the video of his presentation at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational last month to go viral.

  • (VIDEO) I Will Wait For You

    (VIDEO) I Will Wait For You

    Would You Wait For The One?

    It’s not unusual to reassess the relationships we are in and realise we deserve something more, something … better.

    Poet Janette…ikz shares a beautiful piece on waiting. She starts of in a humorous way, talking about dating the wrong guy, then blows my mind.

    Interjecting references from the bible to hone in on what we should be really waiting for, Janette…ikz creates a masterpiece of poetry that I have rarely seen.

    Emotional and breathtaking!

    “Ready to sell my aorta for a quarter, not knowing the value of its use to me.
    Arteries so clogged with my will, it blocked His will from flowing through me.”

  • (VIDEO) Defining Pretty

    (VIDEO) Defining Pretty

    Will I Be Pretty?

    Katie Makkai, a veteran poetry slammer, defines ‘pretty’ in what only could be described as in an EPIC way.

    Most of us can relate to having insecurities about the way we look, especially growing up and attending school where the way we look defines the level of social acceptance we have.

    Katie takes us on a journey on how it is growing up trying to be society’s definition of ‘pretty’, and how it only breeds even more insecurities. Pretty darn amazing!

    “This is about the self-mutilating circus we have painted ourselves clowns in. About women who will prowl 30 stores in 6 malls to find the right cocktail dress, but haven’t a clue where to find fulfillment or how wear joy, wandering through life shackled to a shopping bag, beneath those 2 pretty syllables.”

     

  • (VIDEO) Kanye West at a Poetry Slam

    (VIDEO) Kanye West at a Poetry Slam

    Kanye and Bittersweet Poetry

    So, I’m not a big fan of Kanye West, in the sense that I don’t listen to much (or any) of his music except for ‘Gold digger’. In saying that, I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with his performance at this Poetry Slam.

    It started off with a typical Kanye West style with his haters and him making history etc etc … then he moved into his poem ‘Bittersweet’. He executes this poem with skill and a fair amount of emotion.

    This poem is about the pleasure and pain of being in a relationship, which I’m sure we can all relate to..

    “And I always thought that you havin my child was our destiny
    But I can’t even vibe wit you sexually
    Cause every time that I try you will question me
    Say “you ****in them girls, disrespecting me?
    You don’t see how your lies are affecting me? ”

    Check it out!

     

  • (VIDEO) What Teachers Make

    (VIDEO) What Teachers Make

    Don’t Mess With a Teacher

    An awesome ass-kicking video by Taylor Mali on ‘What Teachers Make’.

    Taylor is one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet.

    He is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test.

    We tend to underestimate teachers, and the value they give to our children or even to ourselves. When you watch this video you won’t look at them in the same way again.

    “You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
    I make them question.
    I make them criticize.
    I make them apologize and mean it.
    I make them write.
    I make them read, read, read.
    I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
    over and over and over again until they will never misspell
    either one of those words again.”

    Check it out!

     

  • (VIDEO) An OCD Experience

    (VIDEO) An OCD Experience

    Love, Heartbreak and OCD

    Wow, this poem by Neil Hilborn is incredible! Neil takes us on a journey of love and heartbreak through the eyes of someone suffering from OCD.

    I haven’t been around anybody who is suffering from this condition, but I know it is not easy to live with. This video gives some insight of what this might feel like. It is incredibly emotional and allows you to consider the person suffering from OCD and the people around them.

    Neil talks about falling in love and having that person understand you and then the loss of that love.

    “On our first date, I spent more time organizing my meal by color than I did eating, or fucking talking to her

    But she loved it.”

    Don’t miss this!

  • (VIDEO) A Controversial Poem on Rape

    (VIDEO) A Controversial Poem on Rape

    Why so many Damn Rape Poems?

    This poem by Justice Hehir, Lindsey Michelle Williams, Kate Thomas, and Lillie Hannon is receiving quite a bit of heat on this controversial topic.

    It’s a powerful poem that says America needs to listen to as many rape poems as it takes, until they truly hear the pain and traumas of victims. Of course there are those who believe that what a woman wears and how she acts would change this anyway and the poets are quickly boxed as irrational ‘feminists’. Despite the positive and negative feedback this poem has gone viral and for good reason.

    “Our bodies were ours alone. If everyone knew what NO meant. If Budweiser stopped selling our bodies stretched across a six pack. If everyone would listen to THIS ONE.”

    Take a look!

     

  • (VIDEO) Too Skinny

    (VIDEO) Too Skinny

    It’s Just as Hard Being Too Skinny

    Aisha Oxley poem on being skinny gives a perspective on the insecurities and body shaming that is felt on the “so called” other end of the scale.

    She raises awareness on how it’s deemed more appropriate to say harsh things on those with little weight and the horrible effect it has. In a society where being skinny is hard to be seen as a bad thing, Aisha reveals how she was made to feel ugly about her body just as much as those who are called overweight.

    “Their words were metal disks that when thrown at just the right angle severed my shins and dropped me to my knees…”

    Check this video out.

  • (VIDEO) How to Succeed in Heartbreak

    (VIDEO) How to Succeed in Heartbreak

    A Heartbreakingly Great Poem!

    Victoria Morgan gives us a wonderfully funny and achingly true poem on heartbreak.

    Most of us can relate to the turmoil that the end of a relationship can bring. It’s not pretty and it can twist us up in knots and leave us bruised, beaten and sore. Victoria cleverly illustrates these turbulent emotions by alternating between humour and vulnerability. This gives her more serious tones a clear and beautiful emphasis.

    “Do not pick yourself up, do not be okay, because heartbreak is not about being okay, it is about remembering you were okay before.”

    Check out her beautiful video here.

  • (VIDEO) How One Poet Turned Abuse Into Inspiration

    (VIDEO) How One Poet Turned Abuse Into Inspiration

    Healing Abuse Through Poetry

    A ridiculously moving poem by Saidu Tejan-Thomas, where he describes his experience with abuse at the hands of his uncle.

    Abuse is never easy to talk about, but Saidu takes on a journey of what happened to him and how he had to live with the results. You can hear the emotion in his voice and watch the tears that run down his face as he reveals one of the most horrifying things a child can ever go through.

    “Survivor implies it happened in the wilderness, somewhere far, far away from home. It was a normal afternoon with nothing to do.”

    View this inspiring video!