Spoken word “slam poetry” — speaking, screaming and even singing poems, stories, lyrics and monologues — has exploded across Australia over the past decade.
Often tackling brave subject matter and spanning the political and personal, the modern art form with no defined style is inspired by hip-hop culture and was first developed by Marc Smith in Chicago in 1984 as a way to enliven performance poetry.
A microphone, live audience and two minutes to impress five judges chosen at random from the audience are the key ingredients.
After each performance the judges give scores from one to 10 and only the middle three numbers are counted.
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Links:
ABC Australia | Australian Poetry Slam
