POETRY SLAM!
Pick a poem to recite to the class (or on video). Make sure the poem you choose is one that speaks to
you. Think about how you should interpret the tone, volume, and voice of your poem. Is it a quiet
poem? Is it an animated poem? Should it be read more quickly or slowly, with a happy or mournful
tone? Your interpretation will be different for each poem, and it is a crucial element of your
performance.
You should try to memorize your poem. If you need it, you may have a copy of the poem with you
when you recite.
Tips on Reciting
PHYSICAL PRESENCE
Eye contact, body language, and
poise.
Present yourself well and be attentive. Use good posture. Look
confident.
Use eye contact with the entire audience.
Nervous gestures, poor eye contact with the audience, and lack of
poise or confidence will detract from your performance.
VOICE AND
ARTICULATION
Volume, pace, rhythm,
intonation, and proper
pronunciation.
Relax and be natural. Enjoy your poem.
Project to the audience. Capture the attention of everyone, including
the people in the back row. However, don’t mistake yelling for good
projection.
Proceed at a fitting and natural pace. Avoid nervously rushing through
the poem. Do not speak so slowly that the language sounds unnatural
or awkward.
DRAMATIC
APPROPRIATENESS
Line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. Decide whether a break
requires a pause and, if so, how long to pause.
Make sure you know how to pronounce every word in your poem.
Articulate.
Do not act out the poem. Too much dramatization distracts from the
language of the poem. Movement or accents must not detract from the
poem’s voice.
Depending on the poem, occasional gestures may be appropriate, but
the line between appropriate and overdone is a thin one. When
uncertain, leave them out.
Avoid monotone delivery. However, too much enthusiasm can make
your performance seem insincere.
Resources To Help You Prepare
Poetry Out Loud - http://www.poetryoutloud.org/
Favorite Poem Project - http://www.favoritepoem.org/
Academy of American Poets - http://www.poets.org/
Poetry Out Loud Poems (suggestions)
Abandoned Farmhouse by Ted Kooser
Analysis of Baseball by May Swenson
Caged Bird by Maya Angelou
Catch a Little Rhyme by Eve Merriam
Dream Variations by Langston Hughes
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Eating Poetry by Mark Strand
Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye
Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
Hope is the thing with feathers (254) by Emily Dickinson
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth
Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Mr. Grumpledump's Song by Shel Silverstein
My First Memory (of Librarians) by Nikki Giovanni
One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
Sea Fever by John Masefield
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
The Great Figure by William Carlos Williams
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
There is no frigate like a book (1263) by Emily Dickinson
This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
We never know how high we are (1176) by Emily Dickinson
When You are Old by W. B. Yeats
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti