They’re a thing in the US as well. I think, in fact, that the first slam poetry event took place in Chicago. The youth slams that I heard while I was teaching t

They’re a thing in the US as well. I think, in fact, that the first slam poetry event took place in Chicago. The youth slams that I heard while I was teaching tended towards overwrought, but I’ve heard some good stuff at the more professional level. HBO used to show slam poets, but I don’t think they do anymore.