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Poetry Slam

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Poets from all around the country battle it out for the title of Radio 4 Slam Winner

Highlights from the Radio 4 poetry competition. Spoken word performers from all around the country battle it out for the title of Radio 4 Slam Winner

Poetry Slam: Series 2

Poetry Slam: Series 2: Episode 1

Episode 1

Series 2

BBC Radio 4 - Poetry Slam, Series 2, Episode 1

The first semi-final of Radio 4's 2009 national Poetry Slam, hosted by Dreadlock Alien.

Radio 4's Poetry Slam in 2009 produced a high-octane set of performances from some of the best slammers in the country. This is the first semi-final, recorded in Liverpool.

Radio 4's Radio 4's 2009 Poetry Slam kicked off with performance poets competing in heats all round Britain for a place in the semi-finals, the first of which was held at The Bluecoat in Liverpool and hosted by popular poetry performer, slammer and former Poet Laureate of Birmingham, Dreadlock Alien. The competition was fierce, the energy high and the rhymes came thick and fast as nine poets battled it out for a place in the final. They were: Ash Dickinson, Harry Giles, Mark Madden, Ben Mellor, James Oates, Abby Oliveira, Scott Tyrell, Sohia Walker and Michael Wilson.

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 word-play, 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.

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Poets from all around the country battle it out for the title of Radio 4 Slam Winner 2009

Highlights from the Radio 4 poetry competition. Spoken word performers from all around the country battle it out for the title of Radio 4 Slam Winner 2009

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