Slam Poetry | Definition, History, & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

Home » What Is A Slam Poem » Slam Poetry | Definition, History, & Facts - Encyclopedia Britannica

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Origins

The concept of slam poetry originated in the 1980s in Chicago, when a local poet and construction worker, Marc Kelly Smith, feeling that poetry readings and poetry in general had lost their true passion, had an idea to bring poetry back to the people.

(Read Howard Nemerov’s Britannica essay on poetry.)

Illustration of "The Lamb" from "Songs of Innocence" by William Blake, 1879. poem; poetry Britannica Quiz A Study of Poetry

Smith created a weekly poetry event—the poetry slam—where anyone could participate. Poets would perform their work and then be judged by five random audience members on a scale of 0 to 10. Out of the five, the highest and lowest scores were dropped and the three remaining scores were added to give the poet an overall score. Whoever had the highest score at the end of the competition was deemed the winner.

Marc Kelly Smith
Marc Kelly SmithSlam poet Marc Kelly Smith performing at the Green Mill, Chicago, c. 1991–92.(more)

The first venue to host poetry slams was the Get Me High Lounge on the West Side of Chicago. After two years the slam moved to the Green Mill, a jazz club in the city’s Uptown neighborhood on the North Side. There it developed into the format that many slams came to follow.

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