Poetry has become a trending activity today that has brought people together and also impacted on the public at large.

Poetry has been looked at as an old fashioned art that most students term as boring, a mentality that has to be changed if the students are to take part.

Nowadays poets have come together to put their art out to the public. Most of which are known as poetry nights which are themed basing on the information to be put out for the audience consumption.

Looking at the word poetry, it is all about words that are written and recited an act that makes most poets think widely because they need to pour out their heart to those listening.

Apart from the commercial poets, students too need to develop that art and nothing other than constant recitals and practice can help.

In the recent days, it has been made better because there are competitions that are organised by an organisation known as teen Poetry Slam, Uganda and this has students take part and win prizes something that has motivated the students to take part.

Agnes Bwesigye, a Literature and English teacher at Ishaka Adventist College, says poetry is beautiful but it is unfortunate that people have not fully embraced it.

She has hopes that with the innovativeness that has been attached to the millennial poetry, people are going to embrace it and more meaning will be got out of it compared to what was initially there.

She says she is impressed with what is there nowadays because the children tell and enjoy conveying their messages to the people who are listening.

According to Ivan Agaba, a poet and student pursuing a bachelor of Education in Literature at Makerere University says it takes passion for one to embrace poetry and once this happens, then there will be no turning back for the student.

 He says sometimes the students do not have prior knowledge to what poetry is and how it has evolved for the better so they tend to think that it is just something they find on paper, read the questions and answer.

“It is a brain booster that enables the students think because in most cases people who write poems need to be creative and think so as to write a poem that will be captivating to those reading and listening,” says Agaba.

He advises students not to only to recite but also be creative and act out what you are trying to convey because poetry involves many things.

Student’s take on poetry

Ryan Ejoku, a student at Turkish Light Academy says poetry is one of the platforms that you can use to express how you feel without being crucified by those listening.

“Expressing yourself comes hand in hand with confidence which not just anyone possesses but for a poet, this is a must have before you step the stage otherwise you will make blunders,” says Ejoku.

He urges teachers to interest their students to explore different skills because there is a lot to gain like you can get opportunities, get certificates that can be used for future reference and also motivation from the audience.

More to that, he says students should use the poetry platform for portraying your creativity in interesting ways and this comes with no limits or censorship in what you say.

“Sometimes we have issues that are pressing us but we cannot openly speak out our emotions due to fear of facing the consequences so we end up using poetry to let out our feelings,” says Ejoku.

 “With poetry,  I have the urge to always speak out because I may not be speaking for myself but another person in the crowd and words always live within a person who finds interest in them,” adds  Ejoku.

He says he personally was not interested in poetry but watching good poets made him love it and also start writing which exposed her to research because her always carried out research in every field he was interested in writing about.

Word from a poetry slam judge

Murray Shiraz Batanda, a poet, spoken word coach Teen Poetry Slam Uganda says today it is expressive poetry which is very much different from what is there and this engages people.

“It is picked up from ancestry and it is basically story telling which deserves an assertive tone to pass it through to the audience so that they can enjoy and understand,” says Batanda.

He says with poetry, you can inform people and also educate the community which is easier because people will listen regardless of the topic.

He further says poets use it as a safe media to tell their stories because it is a proper outlet of of letting out their views.