Exciting young people about poetry can be hard.
Encouraging them to share their voice confidently in front of their peers can seem almost impossible.
It doesn't have to be.
For the last ten years I've helped excite and empower students and educators in a diverse range of contexts including public, private and independent schools as well as youth centres and youth justice centres.
Encouraging them to share their voice confidently in front of their peers can seem almost impossible.
It doesn't have to be.
For the last ten years I've helped excite and empower students and educators in a diverse range of contexts including public, private and independent schools as well as youth centres and youth justice centres.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
*Helping students speak up poetically about mental health issues for Headspace, Australia's national youth mental health foundation. *Running an inter-school poetry slam for the Central Coast Council. *Mentoring ten emerging young poets to write and record a professional studio album, publish a book and perform a live show in a professional theatre: 'The Street Poets'. |
SPECIALTY AREAS
* Developing a creative writing practice * Performing spoken word poetry * Writing poetry with purpose * Creative arts and social justice * Creative arts and theology * Toxic masculinity and positive manhood |
I offer full day visits and artist residencies tailored to meet the unique needs of the particular school, which can include the following:
* Large group seminars inspiring students to find and use their unique voice.
* Practical workshops taking smaller groups of students through the process of writing and performing.
*Professional development sessions for educators wanting to engage more effectively and creatively with students.
Read about the experience of staff and students at Trinity Grammar School here:
https://newsletter.trinity.nsw.edu.au/bulletin-article/18182/31/27/751/18213
* Large group seminars inspiring students to find and use their unique voice.
* Practical workshops taking smaller groups of students through the process of writing and performing.
*Professional development sessions for educators wanting to engage more effectively and creatively with students.
Read about the experience of staff and students at Trinity Grammar School here:
https://newsletter.trinity.nsw.edu.au/bulletin-article/18182/31/27/751/18213
WHAT SETS ME APART
* My English Honours thesis at the Australian National University was a research project exploring the links between hip-hop, slam poetry and engagement in English: 'Slamming Hip-hop in Secondary Schools: Rethinking the Ways we Teach Poetry"
*I'm a 2X Australian Poetry Slam Finalist, making it to the highest level of Australia's biggest spoken word competition.
* I'm a qualified and experienced Youth Worker with a genuine understanding of the unique challenges and issues young people face today.
*I'm a practicing artist with years of recognised skills and experiences teaching and inspiring others.
* My English Honours thesis at the Australian National University was a research project exploring the links between hip-hop, slam poetry and engagement in English: 'Slamming Hip-hop in Secondary Schools: Rethinking the Ways we Teach Poetry"
*I'm a 2X Australian Poetry Slam Finalist, making it to the highest level of Australia's biggest spoken word competition.
* I'm a qualified and experienced Youth Worker with a genuine understanding of the unique challenges and issues young people face today.
*I'm a practicing artist with years of recognised skills and experiences teaching and inspiring others.
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Will Small is not just a poet, he is a poet who pours his life into others. He doesn’t just focus on his own creativity, though he does give himself to his craft and its development with passion and gusto. But, he also fully gives himself to the creative development of others and in the helping of them to draw out their own story into something they can communicate. Will uses his own creative journey and his skills in communication to connect deeply with those desiring to take their own message, be it personal or organisational, and bing it out into the world. "We’ve had Will in to do performance poetry workshops with Year 9 over the last couple of years. Each time I have been amazed by his ability to engage even the most recalcitrant and self-conscious students. It’s so exciting to see kids who have never loved poetry write their own meaningful pieces... and perform them in front of their peers! It’s why we keep asking Will to come back: he helps teenagers find their voices and use them powerfully. It’s an awesome thing to witness." |