Three Edinburgh Napier students are coming to the Book Festival on Wednesday to try and popularise their poetry. The new event which they are launching is called Impro Slam and will demand quick responses from the poets taking part.
The idea is that the poets make up a ditty on the spot and it has to be entertaining and witty. No real difficulty there then! The competition is over three rounds, and the last one standing will be deemed the winner.
The event on Wednesday 15th August is part of a push to attract a younger audience to the Book Festival and was created as part of the student’sMSc in International Festival and Event Management.
Annika Edge, Juliane Heinecke and Clemence Le Roux had to pitch the idea in a Dragon’s Den-style competition before securing a space on the programme.
Annika (25) said: “The Book Festival was looking for a new event aimed at 18 to 25 year olds and approached Edinburgh Napier students for ideas. We thought it was a great opportunity to get involved in a major, international event.
“Improvised poetry slams are proving really popular in other parts of Europe just now. They are creative, entertaining and present poetry in a completely new way and as far as we’re aware there hasn’t been an event like Impro Slam ever staged in Edinburgh before.
“After coming up with the concept, we then had to present our idea to a jury of four Book Festival representatives which was pretty nerve-wracking.”
The panel included the event’s Director, Nick Barley who said: “The quality of ideas from the Edinburgh Napier students was exceptionally high and we are delighted to welcome Annika, Juliane and Clemence to Charlotte Square Gardens with this innovative event.
“Poetry is very close to the heart of the Book Festival, as are our live literature events and this is a wonderful combination of the two.”
Annika said by staging the event, they want to portray the art form in new way: “We hope Impro Slam will inspire people to think about poetry differently. We hope to create a unique experience for the audience as well as the slammers, with those participating able to experience poetry creation live and from scratch”.
The three students have managed to secure Adam Kammerling, Hammer & Tongue UK Slam Champion 2012, to perform on the night along with Scottish slammers Sophia Walker, Mathew MacDonald and Catherine Brogan who is from Northern Ireland.
Impro-Slam is on at the RBS Corner Theatre, 8:30pm-9:30pm on Wednesday 15th August. For tickets or further information go to the Impro Slam Facebook page, follow ‘Impro Slam’ on twitter or visit the EIBF website.
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