Slam Poetry Links and Resources
September 3, 2008 · Written by Melissa Donovan
In August, we explored the world of performance poetry with An Introduction to Slam Poetry and a look at Slam Poetry’s Wonder Woman.
Before that, we also met the Lewd, Loud, and Proud Men of the slam world.
Are You Ready to Get Your Slam On?
Now it’s time to really let the slam poets out of their cages. Here are some links and resources to information and resources on slam and performance poetry.
Slam Poetry Websites
Wikipedia may not be a primary or reliable resource but the moderators usually keep the facts straight and include lots of references. Check out the poetry slam entry.
Visit the mother ship, the National Poetry Slam website. It’s jam packed with news and information.
I haven’t had a chance to really dig into Spoken Word Art, but the site features a blog and it looks like a prime resource for learning about performance and slam poetry.
Slam Poetry Audio & Podcast
Indiefeed Performance Poetry hosted by Mongo is my all time favorite podcast. If you only click on one link in this post, make it this one.
Slam Poetry Video
Visit Urbana Poetry’s YouTube page to watch tons of awe-inspiring live performances.
It’s one of the most well known performance poetry productions: The Def Poetry Jam. The site is currently down for maintenance, but it’ll be back up soon so be sure to bookmark it. In the meantime, you can watch it if you have HBO or you can get Def Poetry Jam DVDs
Committing Poetry in Times of War is a film that explores freedom of speech for poets and artists and the violations of those freedoms.
Slam Poetry Reading
Amazon has so many slam poetry books
There’s Always More
Do you have a slam or performance poetry resource to share? Tell us about it in the comments. If you check out these links and resources, come back and let’s talk about them. Have a favorite? Find one that turned you off? Share and discuss!
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Melissa,
I was getting frantic ’cause I couldn’t find the comments! Then I clicked on the post and down they come.
A veritable library of slam poets. Do you ever see live slam poets where you live? I’d like to see some of this performance poetry. In fact, I see it more as performance poetry rather than slam. Slam sounds villanous, like your ripping on someone or degrading their character. That’s the way I’ve seen slam poetry always characterized in its origins anyway.
I think I will check out Amazon’s slam poetry section. I would like to find more about the origins of slam. Right now you have me hooked on Kristin. I think she’s really good! Maybe she’ll come to Chicago sometime. Then I can go see her.
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..And the Winner is…California!
Hey melissa great collection of links! Love the new wordpress theme hooray for revolution! =p
joeys last blog post..Why freelancers should Lifestream
@Ellen, I will look at that. I know the comments aren’t visible from the home page, but I think they should be seen from any post page. I still have some tweaking to do…
I haven’t seen a live slam yet. During my college days, I went to a few readings, but those were much different, more reserved. I live near a major city so I should be able to get to a performance one of these days. I can listen to Cristin’s performances over and over. That’s the mark of excellence!
@Joey, Thank you! I’m glad I finally changed themes. It was long overdue. Glad you like the links!
That one link you strongly recommended, the indiefeed… I only listened to one and I will definitely look more into it and maybe one day submit something myself. Maybe.
As for Def Poetry Jam, I love that show. I can’t watch it anymore, unfortunately due to the expenses of owning a car outweight HBO’s fee. Sigh. But alas, it’s a DVD colection to be owned.
t.sterlings last blog post..one hundred
@t.sterling, IndieFeed rocks! That’s how I discovered slam and the poets that I’ve reviewed here. I think you can catch Def Poetry Jam clips on YouTube. I’ve seen a few good ones that way.
Melissa — You’ve inspired me to do a slam poetry post (for tomorrow).
Ellen — I’m glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t find the comments. I was just thinking I had better get to bed, because apparently my insomnia + dyslexia had proven me entirely useless. When I figured out how to find the comments, I was way too proud of myself, so yes, I do think it’s time for bed. LOL
Amy Derbys last blog post..Confessions of a (Not-So-)Closet(ed) Freak
@Amy, Awesome, let’s spread the word about slam!
I’m not sure what’s happening with the comments. I checked a couple of points of entry (email and RSS subscribe) and the comments were there at the bottom of the page. They won’t show up on the home page though. I’d like to fix it if I can, but I’m not sure which page is not displaying them for you guys.
And don’t forget to upgrade to WP 2.6.2! They have a cool automatic plugin now to do all that for you now. I’m so happy about that I thought I’d let you know.
@Ellen, Thanks for the reminder. I just did my upgrade on all my sites. My hosting companies have automated upgrades so I don’t use the plugin. It took all of about three minutes
Beau Sia and Tayler (or is it Tyler?) Mali are my favorite slam poets. I wish I could see more of their work.
Beau Sia has a wonderful energy about him. I think the work he’s posted on YouTube (channel: beausia) is some of the best I’ve ever seen.
Tyler(?) Mali has some great pieces to do with teaching and youth today. Wonderful stuff.
Matthew Drydens last blog post..I Can Tell, Tree
@Matthew, Taylor Mali is one of my favorites too! I’ve only heard a little from Beau Sia so I’ll have to check out his channel. I’d love to see more performance poetry online since I think it’s a really great medium for getting more exposure for slam.