$13.00

Discover the rich history of slam poetry through the lens of the New York City scene that pioneered it.

Author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz situates New York slam poetry within the history of oral poetry traditions, tracing its roots across time and around the world, with particular attention to the three major 20th-century art movements that helped set the stage for it: the Harlem Renaissance, the Beats, and hip-hop. Aptowicz explores the birth of slam at the Nuyorican Poets’ Café and the genre’s explosive growth, as the media responded with events such as Lollapalooza and MTV’s Unplugged. The book expands the canvas by examining the connections between academia and slammers, particularly the poets of color, youth slammers, and the burgeoning hip-hop poetry scene. Interviews with key players like Chicago’s Marc Smith and San Francisco’s Gary Mex Glazner help tell this fascinating story from the inside.