„Poetry-slam“ im daf-unterricht: überlegungen am beispiel eines deutsch-albanischen workshops im oktober 2018

Abstract

During the last two decades, poetry slam has become an increasingly popular form of literary expression worldwide. In addition to popular evening events by well-known slam artists, the format is also widely used in literature classes at German schools and universities. There exist many publications on didactic concepts, as well as instructive work sheets, yet very little research literature on its application to German foreign language classes has been published to date. In the following paper, the history and basic principles of slam poetry are explored in detail. After an explication of the basic rules and necessary conditions of slam poetry, a special focus will be put on the underlying idea of literature ‘from the bottom up.’ On the basis of a German-Albanian workshop that took place in October 2018, optional changes to the normal patterns of slam poetry are debated, and practical problem areas are highlighted. These include organizational obstacles as well as different cultural conceptions. Rather than following rigid procedures, a trial and error approach is used in accordance with the general spirit of poetry slam. Necessary cultural accommodations by both the workshop instructors and the participants are described. Poetry slam is thus understood as an intercultural gain for all participants.