On Tuesday 27^th June a number of the First Story students attended the BLF Poetry Day event held at St. Georges Hall as part of the Bradford Literature Festival.

The first section was introduced by Wakefield born poet Matt Abbott who explored the diverse forms and styles of poetry, treating us to his sonnet Heinz 57 in praise of baked beans on toast. Our students each wrote a haiku.

The Slam poet Michelle Scally-Clarke taught us performance techniques, she talked about her early life and our students wrote an ‘I am…..’ poem under her guidance.

After a break for lunch where we visited the famous Story Bus in City Park and had a look around the BLD venue tents we returned to the hall where the award-winning poet Antony Anaxagorou explored the place poetry has in society today, the politics of writing and how poetry can shape our understanding of contemporary issues.

The last section of the day was with testament, the Guinness world record holding beatboxer who delivered a session outlining rhyme, rhythm and flow, exploring the links between hip-hop, poetry, rap and the inspirations behind the people who championed these art forms. He finished with a rousing rap using a selection of audience selected word suggestions.

It was an exciting, informative day and has hopefully inspired our students to be even more creative in their writing.