Slam to Heal. A Poetic Inquiry Reflection

In very general terms, slam poetry can be described as competitive poetry performed by budding poets in public spaces. In slam tournaments, young competitors engage with topics like intersectionality, gender-based violence, history, trauma, etc. in front of attentive and vocal crowds, catalysing the attention and the energy of the urban youth in emotionally charged venues. However, because of its problematic form and its insistence on performance rather than writing, slam poetry is also one of the most litigious topics within discussions on literature, society and popular culture: on one side, one finds detractors who dismiss it by claiming it is a carnivalisation of poetry; the other side is occupied by slam practitioners and lovers, who consider it an innovative artistic expression, largely emancipated from the prosodic conventions and linguistic 'norms' of the academia. Using poetic inquiry as a research methodology, this article offers a comparative analysis of texts that support both views, and summarises their central argument in found poems. It also draws from poetry therapy theories, in order to arrive at a synthesis position that can - hopefully - facilitate a nuanced understanding of slam poetry in South Africa and elsewhere.