Education
At heart, Philip is a teaching poet and has been working full-time with schools for over four years. He is passionate about how words can challenge, enchant and illuminate our world. He believes poetry is for everyone: sleazy advertising executives, criminals, and even school students. He has made it his mission to share his poetry in the hope of sparking a passion for words and language and in the last few years, Phil has worked with upwards of 200,000 students in over 300 schools in 12 countries.
Philip’s School Visits.
Philip is an experienced and versatile teaching poet, working well in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. For over 4 years he’s worked flexibly with schools to tailor workshops and presentations to suit their needs and scheduling requirements.
Workshops.
Philip teaches students tips and tricks to write and perform their own poetry, including demonstrations of ‘slam style’ poems and discussions about form and techniques. Students will experiment with poetic forms such as stream of consciousness, battle haikus and phrase poems to help them bring to life their stories and sharpen their means of expression. Workshops for schools can sit within the syllabus criteria for English and tailored to the specific needs of the school.
Performances.
Philip Wilcox delivers performances of spoken word poetry with a wit and power that enthral and delight. He challenges audiences with a mix of humour and social insight that steers clear of the didactic or prescriptive. He threads stories, jokes and modern-day myths about growing up in suburbia with an arsenal of poems – some sublime, some ridiculous. The show will have students transfixed one minute, then suddenly laughing the next. Interwoven with visuals, musicality and storytelling, each performance has a strong component of student participation, followed by a brief Q & A session.
Testimonials.
“Philip Wilcox broke the heart of everyone in the room. He has a rare and covetable ability to put everyone at ease and fire them up at the same time. He is funny, inclusive, and has a commanding stage presence. And that’s before the poetry .... Phil’s poems convey the issues of our times and our lives with finely crafted words and an entertaining delivery.”
“Philip was warm, easy-going, flexible and wonderfully willing to work to our needs. The workshop was age/stage appropriate and the students were incredibly engaged. To say that the students and staff enjoyed the workshop is an understatement. It was brilliant. We look forward to having Philip back!”
“We were amazed, engaged, learnt so much, laughed, cried and were scared silly. What an amazing roller coaster of a performance – and as a bonus, fantastic inspiring workshops, that we have put to good use. Beauty Point PS was so impressed with Philip, and thanks him for teaching us to love Slam Poetry! Thank you.”
“In the midst of all the applause, he gracefully returns his smoking microphone to its melting stand and burns into our imaginations like a poetic brand”
“Thank you so much! Philip rocked it - the year group have never been so engaged”
“Philip, you were able to captivate the students and created a genuine excitement for poetry despite you being on just a screen! It actually felt like you were in the room with us”
- Yew Chung International School of Shanghai Puxi
“Thank you thank you thank you so much for your performance last night at ISB! It was a genuinely amazing experience”
- International School of Beijing
“I was just one of the kids you performed to at Xavier College in Adelaide. I just wanted to say how great you were, I appreciate it heaps that I got such an amazing person like you to perform in front of me. You honestly blew my mind on what you can do. You are very talented and you are such an amazing person, keep doing what you love okay. I wanna say more but I don't want to waste anymore of your time…”
- Year 8 student Xavier College