A few years ago i stumbled across a great show called DEF POETRY JAM – an ensemble of American poets performing their poems live and loud. It was an articulate, raw, witty and funny interpretation of life performed with vitality and originality. It was one of the best artistic performances I have seen. I was inspired.

So I was very happy to be reintroduced to this amazing art of performance poetry after finding a great group of artists in singapore called B.E.A.T.S. The first event I attended was a film screening of the documentary Slam Nation – a documentary following ‘Slam Poets’ coming together from all parts of the US for a poetic competition.

Slam poets write short poems which are no longer than 3 minutes in length when performed. They can also collaborate and perform together in groups of up to 4 people. Some really amazing team performances were captured in the documentary.

Anyway I got excited and started looking for what I could find on Youtube and stumbled upon one of the most inspiring performances I have seen – he happens to be one of the most well known of the Slam Poets Shane Koyczan who was the first Canadian to win the SLAM NATION competition.

This 3 minute performance really moved me. .