The Superbowl of Slam

Billed as "the competitive art of performance poetry," Slam was invented in Chicago in July 1986 by Marc Smith, a construction worker-turned-poet at an uptown watering hole once frequented by Al Capone. By the late "80s, Slam had spread beyond Chicago to San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Ann Arbor. In 1989, the 1st annual National Poetry Slam took place in San Francisco.

Bolstered by MTV’s interest in spoken word in the early ‘90s, Lollapalooza’s inclusion of a spoken word stage on its 1994 tour, the release of the documentary film Slam Nation in 1997, and grassroots touring efforts by Slam artists, the Slam movement had sown seeds across the map by the end of the millennium.

By 2000, the Slam movement exploded to include a record number of performers, ever-growing audiences, and an exponential increase in the number of cities staging Slam events. Slam’s popularity was evidenced by the debut of the HBO original series, Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, featuring many top slammers.

The 21st annual National Poetry Slam continues to grow. NPS 2010 expects a record number of teams from throughout the US and Europe as it engages over 15,000 audience members during the five-day event.

NPS 2010 will be held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Check back for more details after the new year.