Powerful Learning

9 May 2018

Manal Younus Poetry Slam Performance

Manal Younus Poetry Slam Performance

'inspired to try something new'

On Monday 30 April, Year 9 students attended an incursion with performance poet, storyteller and writer, Ms Manal Younus. Manal performed some of her poems and shared both her journey from Eritrea to Australia and her journey to becoming a professional poet. Her story acknowledges that we all may face adversity. However, it reminds us that we need to stay true to ourselves and what we want to do. Manal explained that poems are simply words which convey an idea, story or opinion and that our writing shouldn’t be restrained by structures or rules. Her personal stories and powerful messages demonstrated how effective using words to speak up about issues in society can be. Her passion for writing and spoken word poetry was evident. Just like Manal who started participating in poetry slams, I hope we have all been inspired to try something new, even though at first it may appear intimidating.

Cynthia H, Year 9