★ Now booking 2026★ Limited dates each semester★ Keynotes★ Workshops★ School assemblies★ Available nationwide ★ Now booking 2026★ Limited dates each semester★ Keynotes★ Workshops★ School assemblies★ Available nationwide

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assembly · workshop

Poetry Is Not Boring

Making creative writing active, funny, personal, and performative.

The fastest way to turn "I hate poetry" into "wait, that was awesome."

Most people's idea of poetry was ruined in a classroom. Sam's whole career is proof of the opposite: poetry can be loud, funny, physical, and alive. As the creator of The ILL LIST — one of California's most respected poetry slams — he knows how to make a room lean in.

Perfect as a school assembly or an interactive workshop, this session turns "I'm bad at writing" into pages of real, honest work — fast.

What the room walks away with

  • Why students think they hate poetry — and how to flip it
  • Performance as a doorway into writing
  • Prompts that get reluctant writers writing in minutes
  • Permission to be honest, funny, and themselves on the page

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