We're Slamming!

The visit of poet Dreadlock Alien to Harrodian on Tuesday 13th November was enough to revolutionise the 9s view of poetry, perhaps forever.

Dreadlock, a  renowned performance poet who has been variously described as a ‘long-standing Wandering Word host, Birmingham's 10th Poet Laureate and an all-round good guy’ is an old friend of the School who has worked with the 11s in the past. This time he was entrusted by Harrodian’s English department with the task of opening pupils' minds to poetry, rhyme and the English language.

He certainly delivered on his brief. Starting with an eloquent and exuberant introduction that exploded misconceptions that poetry was dull, Dreadlock challenged the 9s to spend the morning writing a poem about a subject of their choice, to practise the words  and then to perform it on stage in a live group performance – a so-called ‘Poetry Slam’ – in the Theatre.

The pupils were hooked from the start and throughout lunch the corridors and courtyards resounded to the hum of pupils practising their beat boxing. By the time pick-up rolled around  the whole 9s year group had written and ‘slammed’ on subjects ranging all the way from animal cruelty, through the beauty of balloons, to what happens in the bath.  

A panel of teachers selected a 'slam shortlist' of five – Genevieve, Cameron, Milo, Caroline and Theo – from the year group and then the five slammed again with Milo and Caroline making the final with poems about 'not boasting about money' and 'bullying' respectively. Eventually Milo emerged as the Grand Slam Champion thanks to the use of what Dreadlock described as an audience 'Cheerometer'.