hello.
i created this wikipedia account to monitor wiki-representations of the burgeoning slam poetry movement. as a member of this vibrant community, i want to make sure it's adequately/fairly represented. like any artform, it has its pitfalls - and it's share of bad examples - but its potential for social change and accessibility to previously silenced groups, not to mention its educational and ego-busting qualities, make it more redemptive than pretentious or negative.
i find wikipedia to be an amazing informational tool, and i also find slam's representations on it to be lacking, especially since most of the information about it is only coming from its most self-congratulatory memebers.
i created the beginning of the National Poetry Slam page. i hope others with more historical information and perspective add to it, especially as the movement grows larger and further away from its inception in '84.
i'll certainly contribute elsewhere on this site, this is just where i'm starting.