Marc Smith is creator and founder of the Poetry Slam movement. As stated in the PBS television series, The United States of Poetry, a "strand of new poetry began at Chicago's Green Mill Tavern in 1987 when Marc Smith found a home for the Poetry Slam." Since then, performance poetry has spread throughout the world, exported to over 300 cities large and small.

Chalking up more than a 1000 performances in nightclubs, concert halls, libraries, universities, and on tops of hot dog stands, Smith continues to host and perform every Sunday night at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge to standing-room-only houses. He has staged a multitude of special slam productions, including Slam Dunk Poetry Day at Chicago's Field Museum, The Summer Solstice Poetry Show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and his touring troupe The Uptown Slam Experience. He has been featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, and WGN's Chicago Tonight. He performs regularly with the Pong Unit Band, an eclectic musical quartet that rocks out, bops out, and Bachs out accompaniment to his spoken verse. In March of 2003, Sourcebooks released Spoken Word Revolution, a book/CD anthology narrated by Marc and edited by his friend and protege, Mark Eleveld. Marc's book Crowdpleaser and his CD It's About Time are available through his website at www.slampapi.com.

Joe Kraynak is a professional writer who has authored and co-authored numerous books, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Computer Basics, Flipping Houses For Dummies, Food Allergies For Dummies, and Bipolar Disorder For Dummies. Joe graduated from Purdue University in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and philosophy and again in 1984 with a master's degree in English literature. In the summer of 2003, Mikal Belicove, acquisitions editor for The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry, introduced Marc and Joe, catalyzing the most entertaining creative duo since Laurel and Hardy. Joe attended his first slam at the 2003 nationals in Chicago, where he and his wife, Cecie, served as judges. According to Joe, working with Marc on this project was "more fun than any paying gig should be."