Episode 3

Synopsis

Six finalists from around the British Isles compete at the Birmingham Book Festival, held at the Birmingham Conservatoire, for the title of Radio 4 Poetry Slam winner for 2009. Hosted by performance poet Dreadlock Alien, who is on home ground as a former Birmingham Poet Laureate.

A slam is a knockout performance poetry competition in which poets perform their own work to a time limit and are given scores based on content, style, delivery and level of audience response. In the space of two minutes, performers must demonstrate their wordplay, performance skills and inventiveness; over two or three rounds, poets are knocked out until one top scorer emerges as the winner. Slams attract a wide range of performers and styles, from heartfelt love poetry to searing social commentary, uproarious comic routines and bittersweet personal confessional pieces.

Slams began in the United States in the 1980s. The slam scene quickly spread from cities like Chicago and New York and is now thriving all around the world. There are hundreds of slams run regularly in clubs, bars, pubs, theatres and at festivals all over Britain every year. The very best contemporary slam talent from the current scene will be highlighted in this final programme of the Radio 4 Poetry Slam, as slam winners from all round the country pit their skills against one other.

Broadcast

1. Thu 8 Oct 2009
   23:00
   BBC Radio 4