Live Poets Society

Wrestlemania is in town this weekend, but we dig the kind of slams that don't require greasy shirtless dudes. All across America, you'll find poetry slams giving voice to folks compelled to rant, rave, and share their life through a mic. Who do we thank for this? Marc Kelly Smith,...

By Jose Gonzalez

March 25, 2010

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Wrestlemania is in town this weekend, but we dig the kind of slams that don't require greasy shirtless dudes. All across America, you'll find poetry slams giving voice to folks compelled to rant, rave, and share their life through a mic.

Who do we thank for this? Marc Kelly Smith, also known as the father of the slam poetry movement, who will post up at the Slam Papi event. Smith earned the Slam Papi nickname by establishing the first (and still running) poetry slam in his hometown of Chicago in 1986. Since then, the onstage performance format has brought the words of everyday people to life instead of leaving poetry to haughty academics.

Fri., March 26, 9 p.m.; Sat., March 27, 9 p.m., 2010

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