Episode 3

Radio 4's 2009 Poetry Slam came to its high-octane climax at the Birmingham Book Festival, where six competitors from all over Britain battled for the title of Radio 4 slam winner. The competition was fierce and the rhymes came thick and fast as the six performers who had made their way through tough regional heats and the semi-finals faced this final test of their poetry and performance skills. They were: Kit Lambert, Mark Madden, Ben Mellor, Deanna Rodger, Pete the Temp and Michael Wilson.

A slam is a knockout performance poetry competition in which poets perform their own work to a time limit and are given scores based on content, style, delivery and level of audience response. In the space of two minutes, performers must demonstrate their word-play, performance skills and inventiveness; over two or three rounds, poets are knocked out until one top scorer emerges as the winner. Slams attract a wide range of performers and styles, from heartfelt love poetry to searing social commentary, uproarious comic routines, and bittersweet personal confessional pieces.