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Article: Bards on a bus: SlamAmerica does just that on national poetry tour.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- August 2, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Jerome Weeks
Here's a surprise: The term "poetry slam" has been trademarked.
It makes you wonder whether "performance art" or maybe "action painting" have also been claimed.
Somewhere between a counterculture and an entertainment for bar patrons, poetry slams are spoken-word contests that sprang up in coffeehouses and clubs in the past decade.
If you've never seen one, they feature audience members judging poets' performances and declaring a winner. By combining competitive excitement and the visceral experience of poets flinging out their hearts on stage, slams have become the rock `n' roll of the poetry world. They ignite a lot of ...