An introduction to Slam Poetry
The inaugural poetry slam is often attributed to Chicago poet Marc Smith, circa 1984. “He believed that academic poetry was too structured and stuffy, and wanted to introduce a looser poetry medium,” says PowerPoetry.org. “He founded the first-ever National Poetry Slam in 1990 and that annual competition still goes on today.”
Poetry began as an oral tradition. “The Beat and Negritude poets were devoted to the spoken and performed aspects of their poems,” explains Poets.org. “This interest was reborn through the rise of poetry slams across America.”
Slam poetry grew in prominence throughout the 1990s fueled in large part by its popularity among young and diverse poets. From its inception in Chicago, the competition style spread across the country, finding a home at the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City.
A mural outside the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York.
“Over the last 40 years, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater and visual arts,” says the Café’s website. “A multicultural and multi-arts institution, the Cafe gives voice to a diverse group of rising poets, actors, filmmakers and musicians.” Allen Ginsberg famously called it “the most integrated place on the planet.”
Slam poetry can now be found around the globe, such as at the Faversham Literary Festival in Faversham, U.K.; the Jambalaya Soul Slam Brunch Poetry Slam in Durham, N.C.; and the Womxn of the World Poetry Slam in Detroit.
In fact, “From regular open-mic nights to a Slam Poetry world cup, La Coupe du Monde [slam poetry] has rarely achieved the wide appeal and immense popularity that it has seen in France,” writes TheBubble.org. “Slam poetry allows for individual stories and histories to be explored, thereby illuminating broader statements through personal anecdotes. The form of slam poetry, as with other more classical forms of poetry, is a perfect medium for giving voice to an individual, or group.”
The following, according to PowerPoetry.org, is what sets slam poetry apart from other poetry readings:
Slam poems are meant to be performed. Rhyme schemes and rhythms can be utilized if a poet chooses, and those devices can give some slam poems a hip-hop feel. But there is no formal structure and there are no rules—any style is welcome and that freedom is what many slam poets find inspiring. Slam poets commonly use dynamics (going from a whisper to a shout), pacing (speeding up and slowing down) and pausing to add drama.
The topics tend to be political. You’ll often find slam poets talking about bold, heavy issues, such as race, gender, class, sexuality, discrimination, war, religion and more.
Slam poems are meant to provoke. Slam poetry is designed to trigger emotional responses from a live audience.
A little acting is welcome. No props or costumes are allowed, but bodily movements and facial expressions are fair game and can add depth and meaning to a performance.
An audience member serves as a judge at the Vancouver Poetry House
Basic rules of a poetry slam, according to VancouverPoetryHouse.org, include:
Each solo poem must be of the poet’s own creation.
Memorization is not required or necessary. The poet may choose to bring a sheet of paper or chapbook to the stage or read from their phone(s).
Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over time, points will be deducted from the total score by the scorekeeper.
The poem may NOT include sexist, racist, homophobic, or transphobic comments.
The poet receives scores out of 10 from five randomly selected judges. The high and low scores are dropped and the middle three are added together, giving the poet a total score out of 30.
But the golden rule of the poetry slam, the Vancouver Poetry House adds, is that “The points are not the point. The point is poetry!”