Happy Birthday to Poetry Slam
On July 25, 1986, our lives changed forever.
That's the night Marc Smith decided to add a wrinkle to the weeklyChicago Poetry Ensemble show at the city's legendary Green Mill Tavernwith something called the poetry slam. Originally aking-of-the-hill-style competition, with two poets going mano a manoover multiple rounds, the competition morphed over those next fewmonths into the format we know today: poets sign up on a list, readone poem in three minutes, and get numerical scores from audiencemembers serving as judges.
This week, a number of slams across North America are celebrating the20th Anniversary of Poetry Slam with special events. In Minneapolis,poets are competing against each other in an American Idol-styled slam(including a round inspired by the notorious William Hung audition).In New York, Seattle, Houston and Salt Lake City, teams of poets aresquaring off in bouts to preview the National Poetry Slam competition(taking place August 9-12 in Austin). In Newark, Delaware, poets arevolunteering their time to show kids at a summer arts camp how a propslam works. In San Antonio, the usually-rowdy crowd are being issuedhorns and noisemakers at the door for its birthday celebration. And inPalatine, Illinois, the person who started it all is performing someof the pieces that helped define slam as a literary movement.
When organizers from slams around the country came together to createthe coalition that is now PSI, Smith emphasized the importance oflocal slams maintaining their autonomy and serving its localaudiences, while coming together as organizers with a common missionof making poetry matter to an ever-widening circle of people. The 20thAnniversary celebrations are an indication of that philosophy GÃô whilethe participating slam series have tailored shows that specificallyserve their audiences, they're also sharing in a celebration thathonors the vehicle for poetry that slam has become.
Phil West
Luminaria Media & Public Relations
That's the night Marc Smith decided to add a wrinkle to the weeklyChicago Poetry Ensemble show at the city's legendary Green Mill Tavernwith something called the poetry slam. Originally aking-of-the-hill-style competition, with two poets going mano a manoover multiple rounds, the competition morphed over those next fewmonths into the format we know today: poets sign up on a list, readone poem in three minutes, and get numerical scores from audiencemembers serving as judges.
This week, a number of slams across North America are celebrating the20th Anniversary of Poetry Slam with special events. In Minneapolis,poets are competing against each other in an American Idol-styled slam(including a round inspired by the notorious William Hung audition).In New York, Seattle, Houston and Salt Lake City, teams of poets aresquaring off in bouts to preview the National Poetry Slam competition(taking place August 9-12 in Austin). In Newark, Delaware, poets arevolunteering their time to show kids at a summer arts camp how a propslam works. In San Antonio, the usually-rowdy crowd are being issuedhorns and noisemakers at the door for its birthday celebration. And inPalatine, Illinois, the person who started it all is performing someof the pieces that helped define slam as a literary movement.
When organizers from slams around the country came together to createthe coalition that is now PSI, Smith emphasized the importance oflocal slams maintaining their autonomy and serving its localaudiences, while coming together as organizers with a common missionof making poetry matter to an ever-widening circle of people. The 20thAnniversary celebrations are an indication of that philosophy GÃô whilethe participating slam series have tailored shows that specificallyserve their audiences, they're also sharing in a celebration thathonors the vehicle for poetry that slam has become.
Phil West
Luminaria Media & Public Relations
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