Spoken word poetry with multilingual youth from refugee backgrounds

This article reports insights from a spoken word poetry workshop conducted with youth from refugee backgrounds and their teachers at a large suburban secondary school. The broad aim of engaging spoken word poetry in the educational context was to encourage and listen to student voice and creative self-expression, and to explore opportunities within the class to speak to sociopolitical issues and injustices relevant to students’ lives and experiences. The article illustrates how the workshop created situated, embodied teaching and learning activities to familiarize students with the spoken word genre and invite students to imagine spoken word as part of their expanding repertoire. These experiences engaged with students’ linguistic, cultural, and other semiotic resources, valorizing translanguaging as a critical practice for youth in the process of resettlement and teachers supporting their social and educational integration. The article concludes with implications for teachers interested in incorporating spoken word in the classroom. Copyright © 2021 International Literacy Association.