I will be sharing this with my students next week. I teach girls, and what Sarah Kay has to say to them here may not translate so well at their delicate age, but maybe it will plant a seed and when they need it one day they will return to it. I hope so, because there is a powerful and important message in the words she speaks.
My students have watched a lot of spoken word poetry performances this year, largely because I want them to appreciate the power of language and performance when they combine so beautifully to create something that moves you into a space you weren’t occupying before you entered the world of the poet. One of my new students this term asked me if I’d seen Shane Koyczan‘s ‘The Crickets Have Arthritis‘ and I confessed I hadn’t. I went home that night and read it from his blog and was moved by the words on the page. The next day we listened to it in class, and for seven minutes, there was no sound other than the transcendent quality of Shane’s voice. When it finished, the silence continued as we appreciated the story that had unfolded and the profound impact it had on us all. Here it is. Maybe it will move you as much as it moved us.
Have a lovely weekend. Make the most of all life offers. 🙂
Lucacept - intercepting the Web 
This is amazing… wow!
Wow! As I search for words to say, I wipe the tears from my eyes. Both videos were AMAZING! I am utterly speechless at the moment. Sarah Kay’s video is definitely a video every girl, including myself, needs to hear. What an awesome message! I am so very glad you share this with your students, I wish I had a teacher share this with me when I was younger! Shane Koyczan‘s video brought tears to my eyes! Just like you said, for the six minutes and forty six seconds he spoke, there was not a sound! I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen! You know its sad, like Shane brought to our attention, how often we take this life given to us for granted. But when we come across people like Lewis, fighting for each breath he takes, we begin to become a little more thankful. Why does it take people like this to open our minds? Why does it take life bringing you to your knees before you look up and realize you have been life like you are promised tomorrow. Why does it take people like Lewis to make us realize we ALL have a purpose in this life, and we don’t have forever to find it?Thank you, so much, for sharing this!
I’m so glad you found the videos so powerful Hilary. I love it when the spoken word can move you.