A Brief Introduction to Poetry Slams
More Slam Basics: A Slam Poet's Hypothetical Journey from a Local Slam to the National Poetry Slam
Part I. Pre-waves; or, The Early Days
1. A Very Quick and Slanted Pre-Slam History by Someone Who Wasn't There
2. The Pre-Slam History of NYC Poetry and Bob Holman, as told by Bob Holman
3. Getting a Roof On It: The Reopening of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
4. The Birth of a Movement: NYC Slam's First Year
The Vocabulary of The Poetry Slam: Part I
5. Marc Smith (So What!): The Truth About Who Invented the Poetry Slam
The Myth of Slam Poetry: The Poetry Slam Certainly Exists, but is There Such a Thing as Slam Poetry?
6. Playing Nice: The First National Poetry Slam
7. Slam's Tipping Point: The End of the Nuyorican's First Year
Part II. The First Wave (1990-1996)
8. Exploding Texts: Slammers Take It to the Next Level
9. An Interview with Maggie Estep, First Wave Icon
10. From Sea to Shining Sestina: The United States of Poetry and Other Poetry on Your TV
11. NYC Slam's First Bible: The Creation of Aloud
We're Here, We Slam, Get Used to It: The Influence of Queer Voices In NYC Slam
12. 1994: The Year Slam Explodes
Unfair Stereotypes of Other Cities Slams: One Nerd's Perspective
13. Rap Meets Poetry: The Birth of Mouth Almighty
14. First and Always: Graduates from NYC Poetry Slam's First Wave
Part III. Second Wave (1996-2001)
15. May I Introduce to You the Future: In 1996, Slam Transforms
16. Slam's Second Bible: How Slam Nation Spread the Gospel According to NYC Slam
17. How to Make a Living as a Slam Poet: Mouth Almighty and the Growing Importance of the National Poetry Slam
The Vocabulary of The Poetry Slam: Part II
18. We Don't Do Group Pieces: Nuyo Conquers, then Divides
19. And Two Become Three: Mouth Almighty Becomes NYC-Urbana and Nuyo's Championship Team Becomes louderARTS
60 Minutes: The Poets Slam Back!
20. Passing the Mic: Felice Belle and the Changing Face of the Nuyorican
21. What It's Like to be There: Nuyorican, NYC-Urbana & louderARTS at the End of the Twentieth Century
Rules to Play By: The Unspoken, Rumored Rules of Slam
22. Welcome to the AfterFuture: The Explosion of the Second Wave Poets
Part IV. Third Wave (2001-2007)
23. 2001: The Year Everything Changed
24. Words That Comfort: The Aftermath of 9/11 on the NYC Poetry Slam Community
25. Thank You and God Bless: Def Poetry Hits the Airwaves and Broadway
Taylor Mali: The Man, The Myth, The Industry
26. What the Heck Is Going On Here?: The Bowery Poetry Club Opens (Kinda) for Business
The Rise of Self-Publishing and the Slam
27. Slam's Biggest Non-Slamming Icon Speaks: John S. Hall Takes On Everything Right But Mostly Wrong with the Slam
28. Because This Generation Can Speak for Itself: The Birth of Urban Word and the NYC Teen Slams
Hip-Hop and the Canon: Slam's Influence
29. NYC Slam Grows Up: NYC's Slam Third Wave Faces the Future
30. The Good, The Bad, and The Poetry: The Impact of Slam, Inside and Out
The Afterword: Or, A Completely Invented Transcription That Nonetheless Felt So Real
New York City Poetry Slam Teams From 1990 to 2007
