— "Three chords and the truth" is a standard phrase used to describe country music, punk rock — and, I think, the best slam poems.
— As much as I love jazz and other complex forms of music, "three chords and the truth" have moved me more in my life than anything else I’ve experienced.
— When we talk about "slam" we mean, in any given conversation, one of three different things — an activity, a movement/subculture, a genre of poetry.
— Slam as an activity is neutral in its effect on a larger category of art called "poetry."
— Slam as a movement is having a major effect on that same category; that effect cannot be categorized as positive or negative — it’s simply an effect.
— Slam as a genre may in fact be coming into its first true prime, as people master the use of the formulas and forms that have evolved over time. This genre may or may not be changing the larger game of poetry, but within itself, it has great power.
— As with all formulas and forms, there are those who master them and those who are enslaved to them.
— Slam as a movement is currently rent with discord over the existence and quality of slam poetry as a genre, down to a complete denial by some in the movement that a genre called "slam" exists at all, or should exist. Much of that discord centers on a disconnect as to what the intended impact of slam poems is and should be.
— The discord is largely — perhaps even mostly — caused by a clash of cultures within the movement that is directly connected to larger cultural wars. It is related to the old "raw vs. cooked" divide, but is far more personal and powerful, because it goes directly to individuals’ beliefs and desires for their work. It is a matter of life and death, survival and liberation, a belief in art as a tool for global salvation versus art as expression of personal experience.
— For some, the idea of "the personal is political" is not an observation, but a battle cry.
— Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and similar prejudices drive at least some current critique of slam as a genre, if not always in obvious ways. Class, in particular, seems at play in much of the critique.
— Personal epiphany: I am not, for the most part, a writer of slam poetry. I never truly was one, and my long-term dilemma of feeling out of place in a world that has largely embraced me and my work feels resolved now. I am committed to seeing where it will go, and following its progress, because paradoxically, the movement is my natural home in a way no otherplace has ever been. Part of that has to do with finding those within the movement who share my beliefs as to the potentially transformative nature of art. Part of it has to do with finding that many slammers are more eager for diversity in what they hear than ever before, and that there is a place for me and my work in the movement, if not in the activity or the genre itself.
— Extension of above: How to remain more than just "an elder" in the movement when competition is no longer of interest to me is unresolved, but I am committed to doing that.
— Yet undeveloped thought that feels right but needs more exploration and validation: What happens, internally and externally, when an individual judges a slam, or applauds or jeers at a slam, is the most important factor in the spread of the movement — not the poetry itself.
Dark Matter 