POVERTY SLAM! How Slam Poetry Transforms the Lives of Impoverished Youth

View/ Open
Author
Kientz, Sarah C.
Subject
Washington and Lee University, Shepherd Poverty Program
Poetry slams
Poetry -- Competitions
Civil rights
Poverty
Urban youth
Performance art
Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
Sarah C. Kientz is a member of the Class of 2009 of Washington and Lee University. Capstone; [FULL-TEXT FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE] This paper will discuss slam poetry's impact on impoverished youth by looking at the format and history of slam, slam's connection to poverty, and why slam makes such a connection to impoverished youth. The most important sections of the paper will illustrate how slam poetry empowers youth performers through the political and contentious messages of their poems. The paper will conclude with a discussion of slam's critics and defenders, as well as slam poetry's future. Through literature reviews, examples of youth slam poems, and scholarly research, this paper shows not only how and why America's poor urban youth participate in slam, but how they are transformed as a result. [From introductory section] Sarah C. Kientz