Marc Kelly Smith | Slampapi | Slam Poetry Blog » Slam History http://slampapi.com/blog Take the Mic and Stage a Poetry Slam! Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:30:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Marc’s Leave of Absence — 2000 http://slampapi.com/blog/slam-history/marcs-leave-of-absence-2000.html http://slampapi.com/blog/slam-history/marcs-leave-of-absence-2000.html#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:31:41 +0000 Marc Kelly Smith - Slampapi http://slampapi.com/blog/?p=422

At the end of the 1999 NPS (National Poetry Slam) I announced the first of two leaves of absence I would take from my leadership role as lifetime president of Poetry Slam Inc.

In a letter I read to the Slam Family at the Chopin Theater (Chicago) I outlined some concerns about slam’s evolution and growth. It is interesting to note that many those concerns are still affecting Poetry Slam Inc and the movement in America today.

Here’s one of them.

The emphasis on competition has become far too serious. “The Points are not the Point” axiom coined by Alan Wolfe is disappearing from our group consciousness. We have stopped being playful out of fear of offending the poet on stage and causing them (sometimes only in their minds) a point loss. I urge you to find ways to diminish the importance of who wins and enhance the elements of “fun” at the NPS and at all local slams.

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