Slam poetry was created in the mid 1980s by a Chicago construction worker and poet. The idea was to shake up the open mic poetry readings of the day and infuse it with some friendly competition.
National competitions are held at venues across the country and even novices get in on the fun.
That was the case recently in Denver, where 11 students from eight Denver Public High Schools stepped up to the mic to slam their original poems.
Denver Public Schools Poetry Slam
April is national poetry month and students with the Denver Public School system took part in a poetry slam to help mark the occasion. In the above video Matthew Meyer, a senior at South High School, read one of his original works.
Arts District is a collaboration of KUNC, Rocky Mountain PBS and KUVO.