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.
