Slam Poetry And The Internet

Many people consider slam poetry to be an edgier, more modern feeling twist on the more traditional poems and poetry styles out there. It takes the classic styles and adds an urban layer, making it a favourite even of people who have no interest in traditional styles of poetry.

As with pretty much anything in life, including more traditional art forms, the way in which the internet has evolved has had a massive impact on slam poetry. But how has this incredibly expressive and modern art form been affected by developments to the way we access the Internet?

First of all, the internet has made it much easier for people to share their poetry. You no longer need a book deal or a TV performance slot to let people read or hear your work. You can start a blog at no cost on blogspot.com or wordpress.com, for example, and begin sharing your poetry immediately. Alternatively, you could buy a domain and set up your own poetry website. You can record yourself either in video or just audio, performing your poems and you can share these on blogs or on massive video sharing sites like Youtube, instantly. You have a potentially massive global audience right at your fingertips. This has seen many more unpublished poets come to attention in recent years.

Another way in which the internet has changed poetry in general is by the rise of internet based self-publishing houses. An example is Lulu.com, a site on which you can put together your work in an easy to organise format and change it into a paperback or hardback book, make no minimum order and even sell them online.

But looking at slam poetry style specifically, a form that is brought to life in performance rather than on paper, one of the most exciting internet developments is that of virtual world performance opportunities. Second Life, for example, has a number of slam poets performing at a wide range of virtual venues in the world regularly. The Lyrical Cafe is one such venue founded by poet, Kamille Kamala.

Find out more about slam poetry in Second Life or visit the SL Lyrical Cafe website.