Slam, the gateway to poetry

Hiding what is perceived as unpleasant in something pleasant. The technique is not new. How many pet owners have mixed medicine with food or treats to cure their pets? Parents, meanwhile, find all sorts of clever ways to get children to eat certain foods. Broccoli on its own can be disgusting to some, but if it's covered in cheese or chocolate, those same people will sink their teeth into it.

Education can also use this method. Think of serious games, which have borrowed the fun mechanics of video games while keeping the pedagogical aspect paramount. When well-designed, these games make you forget that they are designed for learning. Strategy can work elsewhere. So, if the poetry of Baudelaire, Rimbaud or Nelligan seems arid, perhaps we should consider an alternative poetic form. In a context where two out of three young French people listen to rap, why not opt for its more prose-like version: slam.

An oral and written art

A quick reminder for those who have forgotten what slam is. It originated in the United States some forty years ago. The idea was a poetic declamation contest, open to all backgrounds and origins. Some artists have made it their artistic specialty. The best-known French example is Grand Corps Malade.

Others have since continued down this path, mixing writing and performance. Indeed, declaiming a slam has nothing to do with traditional poetry. Here, timing, tone and intention all play a part in delivering the message. So using slam would be an even more modern and practical way of assessing students' oral skills.

The interest also lies in the particular writing style of this poetry. It's not uncommon for neologisms and word-cases to be used in slam poetry. They help to express the artist's feelings. Punctuation has its part to play. In this text written by a teacher who has set up slam workshops, learners shared their views on each other's initial compositions. Everyone was able to give advice on how to improve the slam, making it more lively with commas, exclamation marks and so on.

From workshops to competitions

Naturally, teachers will be wondering how to integrate this oral and written art form into a school context. It all depends on how much time you want to devote to it. It's perfectly possible to offer a session introducing the literary style and then introduce more classical poetry. Workshops, on the other hand, require several sessions to familiarize oneself with the genre, to compose, correct and present. In addition, slam professionals are on hand to help with writing, gesture and oral expression. Finally, there's even a school slam competition in France. This requires much more preparation and organization during the year.

Slam analysis is also possible. Writings by authors such as David Goudreault are used with teenagers at the end of secondary school to tackle both argumentative text and poetry. These two approaches literally form the literary style: slam has always had a cathartic function, denouncing situations of injustice, among other things.

Slam analysis can be an interesting way of seeing what the lexicon is made up of. How does it talk about the body, for example? A comparison between classical poetry and slam could be fascinating. What formulas are used? The teacher is then free to suggest that students create a text of their own to declaim.

French as a foreign language can benefit from slam. Less fast-paced than rap, it can be a gateway to the more artistic side of the French language. More advanced learners could even compose a particular rhyme, forcing them to look for corresponding lexemes. In fact, the Institut français is setting up slam creation workshops all over its establishments from Italy to Morocco.

So slam has its place in the classroom. And young people certainly won't complain. Slam workshops are in demand and they love them, because they allow them to express their true personalities to others. It's up to French teachers to take inspiration from what's already been done in the field and apply it to their sauce.

Illustration : Julio cesar costa Megament from Pixabay

References

Cantinaux, Marie-Agnès. "VIDEO| Et Si on Slamait En Classe?" LeJDE.be. Last updated: February 10, 2021. https://www.lejde.be/cnt/dmf20210210_01553536/video-et-si-on-slamait-en-classe?mobile=n.

Deux, Emmanuel. "Un Peu De Slam En Classe De FLE." 'O Blog è Mio - Le blog des profs de l'institut français de Naples. Last updated: January 20, 2021. https://blognapoli.wordpress.com/2021/01/20/un-peu-de-slam-en-classe-de-fle/.

"Du Slam Au Lycée Pour Faire Aimer La Poésie." Lycée Maréchal Leclerc Hauteclocque | Montval Sur Loir. Last updated: January 24, 2021. https://leclerc-hauteclocque.paysdelaloire.e-lyco.fr/actualites-2/du-slam-au-lycee-pour-faire-aimer-la-poesie/.

Emery-Bruneau, Judith, and Valérie Yobé. "(PDF) La Joute De Slam: Description De La Pratique Sociale Et Analyse De Sa Transposition Didactique." ResearchGate. Last updated September 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309731141_La_joute_de_slam_description_de_la_pratique_sociale_et_analyse_de_sa_transposition_didactique.

Gendron, Catherine. "L'atelier Slam Comme Exemple De Relation D'interdépendance Et De Complémentarité Entre L'écriture Et L'oralité." OpenEdition Journals. Last updated: December 30, 2019. https://journals.openedition.org/pratiques/7708.

"The Contribution of Slam in the Classroom." Slam-poetry-autrement! Accessed June 11, 2021. https://slam-poesie-autrement.jimdofree.com/.

"The Slam Project." Institut Français Maroc. Last updated October 14, 2020. https://if-maroc.org/cours/le-projet-slam/.

"Le Slam En Classe (du CP Au Bac)." VERBALUDIK - Jouer (avec) Les Mots. Last updated: January 22, 2021. https://verbaludik.fr/slam-a-lecole-2/.

RFI. "Slam Sur Les Mots En Classe." RFI SAVOIRS. Last updated April 30, 2019. https://savoirs.rfi.fr/fr/apprendre-enseigner/culture/slamer-sur-les-mots-en-classe.

Jeux de slam - Oral poetry workshops - Camille Vorger, Dominique Abry, Katia Bouchoueva
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/jeux-de-slam-9782706122811.html#ae85