#jocson

     Jocson speaks on how poetry cuts across normal cultural and social boundaries to forge relationships and understanding between people. Written about the 2nd Annual San Quentin/Pattern College Poetry Slam, this short article provides anecdotal evidence for the cross-cultural impact of poetry that could be highly beneficial for ethnically diverse urban communities. 

      Jocson and a number of other college students attended a poetry slam in San Quentin Prison. The inmates also preformed their pieces.

"Differences between being from the "outside" and being from the "inside" began to dissipate. One by one, we divulged pieces of our hearts, an uncommon practice among prisoners segregated by "hard-core" reputations and identities. Voices, laughter, and "hmms" connected us as we heard charged words that described various experiences and situations. Because, really, that was all that mattered." ... "we knew that poetry had taken us all to a place where borders did not exist and all that mattered was the dent in our hearts."

     Jocson reviews the pedagogy of using spoken word poetry in classrooms implemented by June Jordan in her college class "Poetry for the People". June Jordan is the most published African American essayist and poet. She currently works as a professor who challenges the narrow corridor academically allotted to poetry. 

     Jordan arranged for her class of college students to enter a public school and teach poetry to the high schoolers. She called this a "collaborative intervention". The high school teachers, college students, and high school students worked together in a curriculum of shared learning in the hopes of offering a different instructional approach to writing and literacy.

     This paper identifies one of the reasons that literacy and literature education needs to change; power equilibrium. Traditionally, literature and poetry have been taught from the opinions, ideals, morals, and beliefs of privileged white men who are not long dead. The classics or literature cannon is mainly comprised of antiquated works which are usually read and taught with no life.

     Poetry gives students away to express themselves in a creative and critical manner. Spoken word poetry teaches expressive language use filled with intensity and precision, while dealing with traditionally covered academic topics such as theme, tone, irony, metaphor, and simile.    

     This article is very useful for teachers to examine the pedagogy and setup of a Spoken Word classroom.