Slam Poets

The National Poetry Slam is taking place this week in Madison, Wisconsin, so I thought I'd post a few links to slam performances.

In case you aren’t familiar with slam poetry, it occupies a middle ground between traditional poetry and rap, and your ability as a performer is at least as important as your ability as a poet. Slam is rhythmic, spirited and contemporary. It often deals with young, urban themes and it can be very, very funny. You have to see it to appreciate it.

Here are some links to some of this week's preliminary bouts:

A clip of Chicago’s “Mental Graffiti” performing is available here.

Here’s “Hips for the Hop"

Finally, here’s Anis Mojgani—a two-time national poetry slam champion. He’s pretty fantastic. (A warning--he uses some colorful language.)