Customer Reviews

Hewitt's Guide to Slam Poetry and Poetry Slam with DVD

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Geof Hewitt's Guide to Slam Poetry and Poetry Slam with DVD: This book is a must for all teachers of English and Creative Writing. Hewitt has an easy to understand and charming style which he uses to lay down the Ways and Means of Slam in the classroom. For all the noise about scores and tests, if kids aren't engaged in language - as writers, speakers and creators, educators will have missed the boat. Taking classroom writing to active performance, where, what you say and how you say it becomes IMPORTANT, SCARY, EXCITING, is a brilliant and effective (sometimes even FUN) way of getting kids to value the WORD and how you use it. I use elements of this book in teaching creative writing in rural New York and I find it pays off, not only in wonderful writing and readings , but, by the end of the year, I can hear them from the back of the class, when they read/perform a report on Newton's 3rd Law. And, the book is full of ways to lighten up the competitive aspects of Slamming, so that kids with varied apitudes all can win the language game.

Geof Hewitt has produced an excellent beginning guide and introduction to the "art" of poetry slam. The book is easy to read, includes detailed instructions for slam exercises and holding a slam, and even has a great DVD to accompany the written material. This book has helped me quite a bit, both teaching slam exercises and helping educators incorporate poetry and spoken word into their curriculum. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in slam, particularly teachers without performance or slam experience. Even old hands on the slam scene (like Geof) can benefit from its succinct prose and straightforward advice.