Slampapi: Recent Comments

Comment on Tell Us What Chapter You Want

Carl Smith — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:54:25 GMT

Thanks LemonZest,

You're our first comment. This blog thing is slow getting going. The slam movement, also, was slow starting too. It actually began on a Monday night at the Get Me High Jazz Club in Nov. 1984. We had a good crowd that night but subsequent nights were sometimes "very slow" only a handful of people. Often on the slow nights we'd sit around the bar with Judy the bartender recite limericks to each other; some of them pretty raunchy. I'm not a big fan of raunchy limericks so I'm glad things picked up and the legacy of the slam is not a raunchy limerick circle in a dark bar.

thanks for repsonding -- you're the first,

marc

Comment on Tell Us What Chapter You Want

Joe Kraynak — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:49:30 GMT

You're very fortunate. Obviously, your poetry professor is an enlightened being. Hopefully The Complete Idiot's Guide to Slam Poetry is a required text for the class.

I knew nothing about slam poetry before I met Marc and worked on the book, but he brought me up to speed in a hurry. Soon after we decided to work together, I headed up to Chicago for the National Slam Poetry competitions. It was a real eye-opener. I attended my first slam with my wife, Cecie. On the way up, I told her I wanted to keep a low profile. When we arrived at the venue (a dive of a bar on the north side of Chicago), I told Cecie to go on inside and find a couple seats while I parked the car. By the time I returned, Cecie had volunteered the two of us to be judges and announced that Marc and I were writing a book on Slam Poetry.

Oh well, no harm done. We enjoyed the evening. I think we gave the lowest scores of the night. Some of the performances were terrible and the poetry was even worse. I think one guy was trying to be terrible. When you see a great performance (outstanding poem performed well), however, it really shakes your bones. I was a skeptic, an old school guy, but the poet-performers and the culture of slam poetry has won me over.

Where are you from? I would encourage you to get involved. It may transform your life.

Comment on Tell Us What Chapter You Want

LemonZest — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:41:50 GMT

First time viewing your site, my poetry professor insists the class learns about slam poetry - which I have never heard of before.