“Letting young people find their own voice ” : Cat Brogan on poetry education

Cat Brogan is an award-winning Irish poet, educator and LGBT advocate whose work revolves around poetry performance. In this interview she discusses the place and significance of poetry in education, with a focus on the impact of performance on young people’s personal growth, creativity, and social-emotional learning. She shares her personal experiences with poetry and highlights the benefits of teaching poetry writing and performance to students. She also elaborates on the challenges of teaching poetry in schools and the potential of spoken word poetry to reach a wider audience. Brogan emphasises the value of poetry performance to foster empathy and critical thinking, and its potential to empower marginalised voices.