Is 'poetry slam' a performance art, or literature, or both?

Question

I'm asking for opinions, not so much the facts.

Answer 1

Slam poetry is a postmodern performance poetry, a form of spoken word performed at a competitive poetry event, called a "slam", at which poets perform their own poems (or, in rare cases, those of others) that are "judged" on a numeric scale by randomly picked members of the audience.

In that way it is not literature, nor is Jazz "classical" music because it's an art of improvisation. There have been more such so-called poetic schools, like "automatic writing" etc. but a frame coloured by a monkey is no painting, so is slam poetry not literature in my opinion.

Answer 2

That's not the right question to ask. There is no such thing as "slam poetry" even though the term "slam poet" seems to have gained acceptance. Those who use the term "slam poetry" are probably thinking more of hip-hop poetry or loud, in-your-face, vaguely poetic rants. The more useful question to ask is "What is the difference between spoken word and poetry?" Spoken word is poetry written first and foremost to be HEARD. Slam is engineered for the audience, whereas a number of open mike readings are engineered as a support network for poets. Slam is designed for the audience to react vocally and openly to all aspects of the show, including the poet's performance, the judges' scores, and the host's banter. Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it...

Answer 3

Performance poetry is now more popular than ever before. Some have their societies, some perform alone and for some artists poetry turns into rap songs. There are fewer stereotypes about poets and no boundaries

Answer 4

Sounds like rapp to me. And That started in The 11th century first recorded records started with french monks, Poetry is going back to its roots .In the Caribbean they have a form of it people throwing insults rather than spears . Whole villages compete with each other.and that's been going on for hundreds of years Life is a performance isn't it?

Answer 5

poetry slams are a performing art but lit is not. My opinoin.

Answer 6

Neither..it's a pigment of our imagination

Answer 7

beats me... but can you do it in bed after a good cup of coffee????????