I like traditional and literary poetry if it is not too self-conscious and cryptic.
I like song lyrics and other rhythmic forms of versification. I like dub poetry.

But from what I have seen on the web exemplifying “Slam Poetry” I can’t enjoy it. It seems, at first, second and third glance to mainly be about self-aggrandizing, posturing, agitation and racial/ethnic/gender complaining. It is delivered with a lot of swagger and bombast but it seems weak on substance.  I like reading poetry and meditating on it in tranquility- and the best place I ever enjoyed poetry (Oxford Anthology) was living in an old bus in the Arizona wilderness for 6 months.  I don’t want to hear poetry in an atmosphere like an urban-issues council meeting at a comedy club. To hell with that – give me rarefied verse from 2 or 3 centuries ago in a quiet comfortable place.  Any day.

Embittered empowered women screeching about themselves and why they are ticked off gets old very fast. Not very DIVERSE, I might add..

Give me some wit, some transcendence and some subtlety please. You all go to the poetry slam – I’m staying here with the anthology. In a clean, well-lighted place.

IMAGE CREDIT: greenchicafe.com