What Is a Poetry Slam?

Poetry slam Incorporated defines poetry slam as “the competitive art of performance poetry”. Poetry slams are competitive events in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Poetry Slam rules and tradition puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Typically, the host or another organizer selects the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores (on a zero to 10 or one to 10 scale) based on the poets’ content and performance.