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  • Workshop
  • Online: Zoom
  • Teen (13–18)
  • YAWP/Teen
  • 1 Week

Hip Hop Poetics: An Introduction to Slam Poetry for Teens

No Longer Enrolling

  • $475.00 Non-Member
  • $450.00 Member

Class Description

“I’m even lethal when I’m unarmed / cause I’m louder than a bomb” - Public Enemy, “Louder Than A Bomb.”

BreakBeat Poets are those whose writing has been influenced by hip hop music and the culture it sprouts from. These are poets influenced by the breaks -- the skips and turns of a record, but also the beats that rappers first began to rhyme over -- and break away from outdated definitions of what poetry can, is, or should be. What is essential in BreakBeat or Hip Hop Poetics is an attention to sound, the way words and language can represent a place, an emotion, a moment--in space, in time, in motion, now. Hip Hop Poetics is about the desire and willingness to make oneself seen, to connect to a wide, diverse audience, and to create greater awareness of our shared humanity.

In this camp, we’ll explore the stories of peoples and experiences that have been systematically denied -- experiences that are underrepresented in the media, and in our 8th grade history textbooks. We’ll also explore the history of slam poetry and the community of poets who slam. By the end of the week, students can expect to have three edited poems (enough to take to a slam), with one of them completely blocked out and ready for performance. Writing notebooks are available, but feel free to bring your own. Get ready to set things off! For writers ages 13 - 18 ONLY.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

GrubStreet is happy to be able to offer a limited number of full scholarships for our teen writing camps. To apply for a scholarship, please click the "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" link above, and complete the online form describing why you want to take the teen writing camp and detailing your financial need. Please wait to hear from our Scholarship commiittee before registering for the class, as scholarships cannot be applied retroactively. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Friday, August 4th at 5pm.

*If you are registering on behalf of your teen, add their email information in the “For a Friend or Child?” field on the right-hand side of the screen before you check out. This will send them a direct link and reminder to create their own profile with GrubStreet.

(After adding the class to your cart, click "Checkout" and click “Add” next to “For a Friend or Child?” on the right-hand side to fill in their email. This is an easy way of linking the class to your child and encourages them to create their own account.)

Scholarships Format/Location

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. After registering, a yellow Resources tab will appear in this section containing a link to join class. Please note that you will need to be logged into view the Resources tab.

Zoom Participation:

In our experience, the intimate nature of a writing workshop benefits from on-camera participation. Students are of course welcome to turn their camera off whenever they need to, but it is a community norm for cameras to be on most of the time. You can learn more about using Zoom here.

Zoom Accessibility:

You can enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting by clicking the CC button at the bottom of the screen. If you'd like to access the transcript after class, please make sure to let your instructor ahead of time that you'd like a copy.