mid-day gives a lowdown on slam poetry, a phenomenon that started in 1980s

IllustrationUday MohiteWhat is a poetry slamSlams are competitive events where poets gather to either read or perform their work They are judged on a scale of 110 for their performance or by an audience vote on their pieces often over several rounds The first poetry slam was held in 1984 at the Get Me High lounge in Chicago by American poet Marc Smith Several slam poetry gatherings followed that one with such contests gradually becoming national competitions in the US Today they are held in all kinds of venues all over the world as standalone events or tournamentsKnow your slam etiquetteArya Tiwari Mumbai editor of online magazine ArtRefurbish that also organises poetry slams across the countryDogtgt Snap your fingers to show appreciation towards certain lines or phrasesgtgt Wait until the end of the performance to applaudgtgt Congratulate performing poets and support them on social mediaDont gtgt Forget to put your phone on silent modegtgt Leave midperformance respect the poet on stagegtgt Hesitate to pay for a slams ticketGet your spoken word fix at these venuesgtgt The Habitat Khargtgt Doolally Taproom Khargtgt The Hive Khargtgt Prithvi Cafeacute Juhu which routinely hosts open mic nights where poets comedians and musicians can performCheck out these performancesgtgtA Brown Girls Guide to Gender by Aranya JohargtgtRevenge Porn by Ishmeet Nagpal gtgtRight to Pleasure by Priya MalikgtgtThe Legal Rapist by Simar SinghgtgtShree Ram Adaalat Mein by Gaurav TripathigtgtGo Back to Your Own Country by Ankita Shah and Ramneek SinghWhen did it get popular in IndiaBack home poetry slams have gained a lot of traction only over the past few years even though India has a rich tradition of oral performances They gained more mainstream popularity in 2016 and 2017 just as videos of poems performed at the events started to take social media by storm Today one can find spoken word poets discussing and addressing a spectrum of topics and issues through their work from love and longing to patriarchy and caste politics Giving a greater boost to this growing culture slams and open mic nights are now a staple in the citys performance circuit with several establishments regularly organising such events Performance arts forum Kommune also organised a fest called Spoken last year which had a mix of acts by poets thespians and comediansWhat is The future of spoken word in IndiaRamya Pandyan poetSpoken word poetry is not a new art form It has its roots in every oral performing tradition But it has gotten a new lease of life Currently the popular flavour is for performances to sound angry and rage against something specific With time I think these themes and tones will evolve too All in all I think were set for some very exciting times in storytelling performance and artHarnidh Kaur poetA lot of slam poets today chase virality which is diluting why slam poetry came to being Having said that I feel there are incredible poets that are going viral Slam poetry is at a certain crossroads right nowhellip But this is a time when the community must rally and take a step back and ask itself are we willing to pander away what is practically sacred to us for a few clicks or do we expect better of ourselves1984The year poetry slams made their debut1990Year the first National Poetry Slam took place in USACatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go