Slam Poet slams us with his talent!

We were fortunate to spend Monday afternoon with Ben Stokes, the 2014 NZ Slam Poet Champion. 

With good humour, honesty and great insight, Ben shared his craft, both the writing and the performing of the poems.  He answered many questions as well as performing some of his slam poetry.  Ben is an ex-Raroan student now based off-shore and performing in Australia and the UK.  This link will take you to a video of one of Ben's poems.

What is Slam Poetry?

Slam poetry is poetry that is specifically written to be performed, often expressing a point of view, personal story and/or challenge.

‘Everybody has a voice, everybody has the ability to express themselves and everybody has something really powerful to say.'  

Kate Tempest - UK Performance Poet