Poems For Two Voices

Austin Competes At The National Poetry Slam [Guest Article]

Months of poetic preparation are coming to a head for seventy-six teams in Boston this week during the National Poetry Slam . Slam poetry is competitive performance poetry, and the teams represent different venues across the country. Austin will have two teams representing the city: Austin Poetry Slam and Austin Neo Soul .

Neo Soul placed fourth in the nation last year, while Austin Poetry Slam made it to semifinals. The aim for both teams is well summarized by Neo Soul team member Brian Francis : “Our goal is to make semis, to fight, and then see what happens.”

There are two rounds of preliminary competition and then the top twenty teams compete in five team bouts; win one of those and you‘re in finals. Teams aren’t allowed to repeat poems through the preliminaries and semis, so the strategy is to win in preliminaries but still save the best for semis. “After you place fourth, you gotta win,” Scot Free said about his hopes for the Neo Soul team this year. He is joined on the team by Zai Sadler and Ebony Stewart , who were on the fourth-place team last year, as well as Brian Francis and Allen Small .

One of the Neo Soul team members from last year, Jomar Valentin , is now on the Austin Poetry Slam Team. He is joined by Kevin Burke, Zachary Caballero, Good Ghost Bill , and Lacey Roop .

“We all have different writing styles, we are all very young; three of us haven’t been on a national team before.We are all delighted with the poetry - none of us are tired, "said Bill Good ghost of Austin Poetry Slam team, only Lacey and Jomar participated in the nationals before.

One feature that makes nationals apart from most local competitions slam - and that these two teams have focused on the development of months - are the parts group. "Songs of the group have a totally different dynamic. Take the excitement individual, multiply that by four or five years and have the energy and excitement come together ... it's magic," said Zach Caballero the Austin Poetry Slam team.

Poetry teams will send a team of four or five people to participate in the National Championships in four combat round against three other teams (four in the semi-finals only). Each team member must be represented as a lead author of a room (a room can have more than one principal author if more than one person can make essential contributions) in a fight in order to send pieces of the group is not only a way to add energy and excitement, it is necessary.

Fireside Musings: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by P. Fleischman

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices would be an interesting book to have in the classroom, but under special circumstances. These poems are meant to be read aloud, and two people are to read simultaneously. This becomes difficult when the two readers must read completely different words. When read smoothly, these poems are interesting and elicit responses different from if it was read by only one person; there is something more awe inspiring about these. The best use I can think of for this book is for two students, who are comfortable reading in front of the class, to practice together several times, and then present.

Joyful noise, poems for two voices

Two voices, poems

Standards-based Activities with Scoring Rubrics: Performance-based projects

I Am Phoenix, Poems for Two Voices

Leap Into Literacy, Teaching the Tough Stuff So It Sticks!