Take the Mic: The Art of Performance Poetry, Slam, and the Spoken Word

Get on Stage and Perfect Your Performance

Have you ever enjoyed a slam or two and thought, "I could do this," but felt apprehensive staring at that empty mic—or worse, you climbed up on stage and struggled?

Let Marc Kelly Smith, the founder of Slam Poetry, teach you everything you need to be a confident performer, from writing a powerful poem, to stage techniques, to going on tour (if that's where your muse leads you).

Take the Mic is filled with insider tips, backstage advice, and tons of examples of slam poems that wake up an audience. With this book, you'll also be able to link to the PoetrySpeaks.com community to listen to samples, meet poets, and unearth inspirations for your next performance.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Performing with Power

Take the Mic is an essential guide for lifting your poetry from the page to the stage. Marc Kelly Smith (So What!), grand founder of the Slam movement, serves as you personal coach, showing you how to craft stage-worthy verse and deliver a poetry performance that shakes the rafters and sparks thunderous applause. In Take the Mic, you discover how to...

Pen poetry that's conducive to on-stage performance
Overcome stage fright
Practice powerful performance techniques
Rehearse like a pro
Shape a loose collection of poems into a killer set
Connect with your audience — heart and soul
Master the art of self-promotion
Schedule your own slam poetry tour
Transform your hobby into paying gigs
Act professional to establish a solid reputation in the Slam community

Take the Mic is packed with practical exercises you can do alone or in class to hone your skills and transform your body, mind, voice, verse, and spirit into an engaging stage presence.

You'll also find a brief history of slam, the rules and regulations that govern official slam competitions, and a list of PSI (Poetry Slam, Inc.) Certified Slams, so no matter where you are, you always have a place to Take the Mic!

Customer Reviews:

empowering advice from the creator of the Poetry Slam

By C. O. Aptowicz - May 27, 2009

When first experiencing a poetry slam, audience members can be shocked to see how expressive and electric poetry can be. The poets who perform in these high energy poetic competitions not only write fresh and modern verse, but are also committed to bring these poems to life with solid, engaging performances.

Author Marc Kelly Smith created the Poetry Slam in the mid-1980s with the goal of bringing poetry back to the people. In the decades since, Smith has toured extensively -- throughout the U.S.A and around the world -- while still running the famed Chicago Green Mill Poetry Slam and encouraging new voices. Smith has taken all that he's learned about how to be a performance poet, and put it in this book.

With "Take the Mic," Smith engages and challenges the reader through every step of development, from "virgin" to professional. He starts with the basics -- history, community, intent -- and moves on how to tackle writing your first poems, how to properly... read more

Very Helpful

By Jamila Johnson - July 25, 2011

This book gives the history of spoken word in a very funny and insightful way. It also has good tips for performance and good descriptions of how actual slams are in person. The only thing that seems sort of annoying about the book is that the author's tone seems sort of self-congratulatory. However, it's not so much so that you cannot read the book. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it's a good buy for 9 dollars.

Take the Mic, no thanks

By Dog Brindle - February 27, 2013

Take the Mic

The Art of Performance Poetry, Slam, and the Spoken Word

Marc Kelly Smith

A book review.

This is something I thought I'd be good at.
Not that I think I have a voice. Because I don't.
Like everyone else I'm not happy with the sound of my own voice and to tell you the truth never enjoyed poetry.
So, I never pursued the art of public speaking and it lingered in the back of my mind until I came across this book at the library.

Take the Mic, The Art of Performance Poetry, Slam, and the Spoken Word.

I immediately thought of Shane Koyczan performing "We Are More" at the Vancouver Olympics, 2010,

check it out

Yes, Yes, This is me. I can do that.
I thought.

That's Surrey Library Guildford Branch and here was this book.
I picked it up and looked at the snazzy, beatnik, modern art design on the cover. Hmmm.

I've heard about beatniks, they wore... read more