Poetry, Hip-Hop, & Spoken Word
THE STORY
The Boys & Girls Club of Allentown's Target Outreach Coordinator contacted the Allentown Public Library in August 2007 in hopes of collaborating on a program which would expose their youth to positive and creative programs (art, acting, spoken word, poetry and graphic design). The library responded by creating a program entitled "Poetry, Hip-Hop, & Spoken Word," for students ages 12-16. This program was open to anyone in the library's service area, but was geared towards the interest of the Boys & Girls Club students. This group was driven to the library once a week from the teen center.
We spent some time learning about different types of poems, examining song lyrics that we like, and writing/sharing our own works. Students who completed the program had the opportunity to spend some time recording their own rhymes and producing a track using a laptop, sound editing software, and a microphone at the library. A friend of mine (thanks Bill!) volunteered some of his equipment and expertise in sound recording. We used some old laptops which were donated to the library hooked up to microphones and simple software.
Everyone who completed the program left with a CD of themselves rapping/rhyming/performing a spoken word piece. A focus of the program was on "positivity in hip-hop," encouraging students to look at how this art form can be an uplifting force in their lives.
There are already plans to expand, modify, and repeat this program at the library. The kids learned about writing poetry, songwriting, recording music, and using rap music as a postive force. They also had a great time and (possibly) began to see the library in a new light! Check out the links (above and to the left) for pictures, copies of the PowerPoint slides used in the lessons, and mp3 of the fine work these amazing kids created in such a short period of time!
-Josh Berk
November 2007
