I slam; therefore, I am

    4921702391_b694dd3248_zSlam poetry was one of the most vital and energetic movements in poetry in the 90s, and since then, has revitalized the interest in performance poetry as an art. While many poets in the academia world stick their noses up at the art, young poets, especially poets of diverse backgrounds, praise slam poetry since it is highly politicized, drawing upon racial, economic and gender injustices as well as current events.

    A slam itself is nothing more than a simple poetry competition where three members of the audience are chosen to act as judges. After each poet performs, each judge awards a score to that poem, ranging from zero to ten. Most slams last multiple rounds and many involve the elimination of lower-scoring poets.

    Props, costumes and music are strictly forbidden in poetry slams, which makes it distinguishable from another category of poetry – performance poetry.

    Some poets, such as Saul Williams, associate their delivery style with hip-hop music and draw on the tradition of “dub” poetry, a rhythmic and politicized genre:

    “We herby declare reality unkempt by the changing/standards of dialog, statements such a ‘Keep it real’/especially when punctuating or anticipating/modes of ultra-violence inflicted psychologically or physically or depicting/an unchanging rule of events will henceforth be seen as retroactive/and not representative of the individually determined is.” – Coded Language

    The slam poetry movement made it to St. Louis in 1989 when Marc Smith transplanted it from Chicago to the Venice Café, where it remained for two years before finding its new home at the Wabash Triangle Café.

    The Wabash, destroyed by a fire in 1994, was located east of the Loop – where the Pageant is now. The 1990’s regulars of the Loop tended to stay on the west side of Skinker, which made the Wabash truly underground.

    Part diner, part coffeehouse and part bar, the Wabash hosted local music shows and slam poets who left the space raw and palpable.

    David Noble Dandridge’s documentary, “The Roof is on Fire,” spotlights the peaks of slam poetry at the Wabash, and where these artist went after their “home” was destroyed.

    Watch it here or catch it tonight at 8.