Reading Poetry Aloud!

Reading our own poetry aloud can be a little scary but also empowering. You have a live audience and you're performing. Instead of just having your work read, you are facing your live reader. You could mispronounce a word or hesitate or stumble. What about the listener's reaction? When you finish reading might be the most vulnerable moment? Will they hesitate or say empty words? Can you tell if they're impressed?

How do our Creative Writing students feel about performing their poetry?

And what is spoken word or slam poetry? How can we inhabit that world of attitude and anger and self-confidence that seems to be a key signature of the genre? How will our spoken word measure up to Sarah Kaye and all those accomplished poets we see on YouTube?

Is this genre of poetry too different for us to thrive within? Should we turn back to fiction and screenplays and familiar poems inside our comfort zone? Or should we keep calm and carry on? If at first you don't succeed, and all that...?