Slam Jam

What do the words ‘Slam’ and ‘Jam’ mean to you? The dictionary definitions of them include poetry, great force, loud noises, and music. All of these apply to the new club for 11-18 year olds being run by Mrs Pomeroy, an English teacher and Head of House. Slam-Jam is an exciting new prospect that was introduced to me during an assembly, and after attending an initial meeting, it sounds like lots of fun!

Slam-Jam is a poetry and story competition with a difference. You must write a short story or poem, and then perform it without a script to an audience and judges. You can work in groups of up to 4 or on your own, and the writing must be original. This way it doesn’t matter if you can’t spell or aren’t very good at English; you can perform your piece the way you want!

The poems must be no longer than 3 minutes, and the short stories 5 minutes. With judging from published poets and story-tellers, the feedback that you will be given will be invaluable.

What will start out as a club will eventually lead to a competition, then knock-out stages, and a final at Lincoln Drill Hall.  The ideas you have could be based on anything, from punctuation to clothes, or your favourite movie! The possibilities are endless!

The preparations are happening now and there will be regional heats in small groups of schools in April; the finals are in June.

Commenting on how it will help people, Mrs Pomeroy says “Slam-Jam will be brilliant for self-confidence, and for improving your grade in speaking and listening in English. It’s also good for honing your drama skills, for your vocabulary, for meeting new people in other year groups and classes, and getting House points!”

After all that, do you want to slam?

 Georgia Carr 8.8