‘I learnt that poetry is not just Shakespeare but also the future’
– comment from participant
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‘I learnt that no matter who you are you have a voice through poetry’
– comment from participant
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WORDCUP2010 SLAM FINAL
Photos Hema Karecha & Andy Rumball
Comments by participants
‘I experienced friendship, confidence, trust, culture, I was completely and utterly inspired’
‘I have learnt that people – any age – can give insight and inspire old minds and poetry is powerful’
‘I have learnt to tackle my nerves and that it is not that bad once you are on stage’
‘[The best thing was] the amount of energy in the wordcup final. Everyone was clapping and supporting the other teams’
‘I have learnt that you can express your feelings in poems’
- ‘Performing the poems which WE wrote and worked on for a long time to a large audience which we normally couldn’t do’
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‘Exciting, thrilling, all-time-high’
‘[The best thing was] The emotion rollercoaster we experienced from nerves taking over to a complete adrenaline rush after. [I learnt] to be proud of my work and show people through performance’
‘Scary, fun, memorable’
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MY IDEA BOOK
By Isobel A., a young poet from the South East
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Sometimes I wake up
At four in the morning,
I pick up my pen
Before blinking and yawning
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I reach for the book
That’s beside my bed
Reserved for ideas
That awake in my head.
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The hand-held grenade
On the cover of black
Is shaped like a heart,
Bleeding and cracked.
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The pages are lined,
Some are tattered and torn,
The corners are folded
And the cover is worn
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You’d be amazed
At the ideas I find
Some awake, some asleep
Alive in my mind.
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The plot lines that spin
The dialogues around
And the characters that anchor
Them all to the ground.
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The book is a prison
Where the ideas are seeded
Among bars made of lines
Until they are needed.
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Isobel is a talented young poet from the South East who took part in the WORDCUP2010 workshops with Rosy Carrick and Rik Sykes. She wasn’t able to make it to the WORDCUP Weekend, but if she carries on writing like this, her poetry will definitely take her places…
If you are a participant of WORDCUP2010 and would like to submit your poem to the blog, please ask your poet coach or teacher/youth worker to send it to Miriam.
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PERFORMER
Lights beam down, stage lit
eyes wide like a hungry cat
The first words roll from my lips
as the butterflies flutter away
Performer.
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By a young poet about their WORDCUP Weekend experience
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‘Island’ by Blakeston School
Sadly, the WORDCUP2010 team from Blakeston School in Stockton-on-Tees wasn’t able to make the North East Final. At the event, Viv Wiggins, their poet coach, read out one of their poems.
Island
This is Seanie Island, my dream location
Where I can:
Be a lifeguard and rescue the Liverpool Football squad
Do Thai boxing all day and master the art
Live next door to Steven Gerrard
Play Bon Jovi records and The Prodigy
Make all of my own clothes just for me.
(Chorus) Yeah but you are not free to FEEL!
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This is Nathan island, my dream location
Where I can:
Bounce all day on my trampoline whale land
Swim with the sharks and sunbathe together like a normal happy family
Build a huge house for homeless people to sleep
Sail around the world and see different people and countries
Where there are no rules except ‘TERRORISTS KEEP OUT!’
(Chorus) Yeah, but you are not free to LOVE!
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This is Daniel island, my dream location
Where I can:
Drive amazing cars as fast as I can at the age of 3
Buy anything I want at any time and it’s all free
Constantly watch new ‘Top Gear’ episodes
Where one week it is hot and the next week it snows
Where wild, exotic animals roam free but they are also friendly
(Chorus) Yeah, but you are not free to EXPRESS YOURSELF!
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This is Matthew Island, my dream location
Where I can:
Spend all night with the army cadets
Drive my tank all over the land
Hunt animals and find plants to survive
Play snowball fights in a special dome
Where school has not been introduced
(Chorus) Yeah but you are not free to WRITE!
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This is Jordan Island, my dream location
Where I can:
Swim all day and win all the medals
Permanently be on holiday
Listen to the words of Eminem
Have a new pair of trainers every month
Watch ‘Mock the Week’ every night
(Chorus) Yeah but you are not free to THINK!
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This is Callum’s island, my dream location
Where I can:
Eat all the chocolate and it never runs out
Buy all the games in the world
…and will win the Euromillions lottery
Start a rock and roll band and be bigger than ‘Oasis’
Fly to Jupiter as many times as I like
(Chorus) Yeah, but you are not free to PROTECT!
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This is Taryn Island, my dream location
Where I can:
Eat chocolate ripples before they melt
Chat all day and night to my friends and never stop
Play netball and have the winning team
Spend time on the beach with my whole family
Eat Sunday Roast every day washed down with ‘Capri Sun’.
(Chorus) Yeah but you are not free to SPEAK OUTRIGHT!
(Chorus) Let’s all think for a minute, and work together…
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This is OUR Island, our dream location
We share all our skills and our motivation
We are free to FEEL, LOVE, EXPRESS OURSELVES and WRITE
We are free to THINK, to PROTECT and to SPEAK OUTRIGHT
This is OUR Island
Love ‘Blakey’ xxxxx
Filed under Poems