slamfreshcic@hotmail.com
At SlamFresh, we believe poetry can make a big difference to young people’s lives. Despite this, the need to create a nurturing and supportive environment in which to write has never been greater. Although the popularity of the art form continues to grow on an unprecedented scale, in schools, poetry is often seen as a problem subject. Teachers admit finding it difficult to cover and students are intimidated by having to study or write it.
More broadly, the recent cost of living crisis has meant that young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds have been put at an even greater disadvantage than they already were. Many of them simply do not have the space or the money to engage with arts activities, at a time when they need them more than ever.
SlamFresh is a CIC which aims to address these problems. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, we run workshops that focus on the contemporary styles of spoken word and slam poetry, approaches to writing which we have found can engage some of the most reluctant participants.
Over the past 2 years, we have worked with hundreds of young people in schools and community settings across the North East, who have went on to share their poems in libraries, theatres and community centres, as well as having their work professionally published by Talking Pen press. We have delivered large-scale projects for Helix Arts, Groundwork, Apples and Snakes and Newcastle City Council. We have been funded by Arts Council England, The Barbour Foundation and the Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust.
We have 3 company directors, Rowan McCabe, Jeff Price and Michael MacDonald (stage name Donald Jenkins). Rowan McCabe, Donald Jenkins and Tahmina Ali are our in-house facilitators, although guests may be brought in on a freelance basis where required. Our team met through their work as professional poets. Collectively, they have spent over 50 years working with children and young people.
To find out more about our availability and prices, contact us here.
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‘The content and amount of work produced was incredible. SlamFresh allowed the learners to express themselves in a safe and creative environment and learners thrived’
Rebecca Ramsden, Deputy Head Teacher, Route2Work College
‘When I started, I couldn’t speak in front of anyone. Now I’m getting up sharing poems’
SlamFresh Participant
Spoken Word Workshops 