Slam poetry

Rooted in the Negritude and Beat Generation movements of the mid-twentieth century, slam poetry emerged in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s as a new mode of performance-oriented literary expression. Embracing free-form styles that do not necessarily adhere to traditional poetic structural features like rhyme and meter, slam poetry relies heavily on oral delivery. It emphasizes the complex interrelationship between the poet, poem, and audience, with enthusiasts generally placing more importance on the emotional impact of a piece than its formal characteristics.

Devotees of the format often participate in competitions known as poetry slams. The exact rules of a poetry slam vary from competition to competition but typically involve an audience judging to determine which poets advance into later rounds. Competitors usually face few if any restrictions regarding the type of work they are allowed to perform, with audience reactions and judges’ scores serving as the sole determinants of success.

Background

In the 1930s and 1940s, a group of black writers led by Aimé Césaire (1913–2008), Léon Damas (1912–1978), and Léopold Ségar Senghor (1906–2001) launched a new literary movement that became known as Negritude. Working in the French language, these writers explored social and cultural issues surrounding black identity. Challenging traditional assumptions about the nature of literature and literary work, the founders of the Negritude movement were a product of Paris’s growing community of black intellectuals. They initially found a platform in L’Etudiant noir, a short-lived but influential literary journal founded in Paris in 1935 that published their early works. Negritude poetry tended to explore themes of disenfranchisement, alienation, and systemic injustice, drawing on the poets’ lived experiences with the colonial system. Its political connotations played a significant role in inspiring the independence movements that would succeed in ending European colonial rule in Africa during the latter half of the twentieth century.

The Beat Generation began in the United States in the late 1940s and reached the height of its popularity in the 1950s. A key manifestation of countercultural attitudes in an era heavily defined by conformity, the Beat Generation rejected capitalist consumerism and embraced contrarian attitudes that undermined prevailing social values. Its leading figures celebrated sexual deviance, drug use, and alternatives to Christian spirituality, seeking to question the underlying social and cultural assumptions that dominated the American mainstream of the postwar era.

Slam poetry fuses Negritude-inspired, politically charged themes of injustice and its emotional impact with the Beat Generation’s irreverence for rules and structure to create a completely new style of poetic performance art. Its emergence as a distinct form is often credited to Marc Kelly Smith (1949– ), a former construction worker who launched a competition based on oral poetry performances at a Chicago jazz club in 1986. Smith’s original format evolved into what are now known as poetry slams, spreading across the United States to reach nationwide prominence in the 1990s.

Overview

Slam poetry was initially dismissed by the literary establishment, who viewed it as amateurish and irrelevant. However, slam poetry’s enduring popularity with young poets from diverse backgrounds eventually helped it achieve legitimacy among progressive academics. No formal rules govern the composition of slam poetry, though poets often strive to craft rhythmic structures that can lend it an almost musical quality when performed orally. Rhyme schemes are left to the complete discretion of the poet and can be used regularly, irregularly, or not at all. Generally, poets who work in the style tend to reserve rhymes for particularly powerful passages.

Owing to slam poetry’s origins as a popular rather than a literary form, poets who work in the format strive to use simple, straightforward language to communicate emotionally impactful, relevant messages that resonate with everyday listeners. Popular themes include current events, predominant social issues, and problems arising from cultural, economic, gender, and racial discrimination or injustice. Composers also draw heavily on intimate, emotionally charged episodes from their personal lives, seeking to communicate their impact or highlight the universal aspects of their experiences.

Some enthusiasts prefer the term “spoken word” over “slam poetry,” noting a belief that the latter phrase tends to conjure impressions of improvised, aimless bombasts rather than carefully composed works of oral literature. In either case, slam poetry has produced some internationally renowned figures who have earned both popular and critical accolades for their work.

Poetry slams have become a cultural phenomenon, with organizations like Poetry Slam Incorporated overseeing major formal competitions. The rules of a poetry slam vary from one event to the next, but most involve successive rounds of competition in which participants perform one or more works that are evaluated by judges. The judges are often randomly selected audience members who assign scores to individual performances on a one-to-ten scale. Judges typically consider the audience’s reaction to a piece in addition to its stylistic qualities. Audiences are encouraged to be interactive and respond to a work as it is being performed without overtly interfering with the performer’s rhythm or timing. The event continues until judges determine the highest-scoring finalist, who becomes the competition’s winner.

The National Poetry Slam, held annually in the United States and featuring team participants, is one of the most popular poetry slam events in the world. During the National Poetry Slam, teams consisting of multiple poets perform works in a competitive format, with the highest-scoring team winning the event and the next three top-scoring teams earning runner-up status. The Individual World Poetry Slam serves as its counterpart for solo performers, inviting spoken word artists from around the world to compete. Both events are sanctioned by Poetry Slam Incorporated and receive extensive media coverage.

Bibliography

“A Brief Guide to Slam Poetry.” Academy of American Poets, 29 May 2004, www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-slam-poetry. Accessed 16 Apr. 2019.

Clemons, Audra. “Top Slam Poets from Around the World.” Culture Trip, 8 Oct. 2016, theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/top-12-slam-poets-around-the-world/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2019.

“General Information.” Poetry Slam Incorporated, 2019, poetryslam.com/faq/general-information/. Accessed 16 Apr. 2019.

Ivory. A Real Woman’s Spoken Words: Poetry Collection. Lulu Press, 2018.

Johnson, Javon. Killing Poetry: Blackness and the Making of Slam and Spoken Word Communities. Rutgers University Press, 2017.

Smith, Marc Kelly and Joe Kraynak. Take the Mic: The Art of Performance Poetry, Slam, and the Spoken Word. Sourcebook, Inc., 2009.

Weinstein, Susan. The Room Is on Fire: The History, Pedagogy, and Practice of Youth Spoken Word Poetry. SUNY Press, 2018.

Winchester, Elizabeth Siris. Just Right Words: Slam Poetry. Teacher Created Materials, 2017.