Words in your face

"The first definitive history of one of the 21st century's most explosive art movements, Words In Your Face explores the birth, growing pains and continuing development of the Poetry Slam - a raucous poetry event that has been called "a pop culture phenomenon" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times), "the death of Art" (Harold Bloom, Paris Review) and has been blamed for making "poetry sexy again in a way it hasn't been since the heyday of the Beats" (Stephen Holden, The New York Times)." "Spoken word icons such as Saul Williams, Maggie Estep, Bob Holman and John S. Hall join scores of other poets, organizers, filmmakers, scholars and critics in bringing the story of the New York City Poetry Slam movement to life. From its origins in the roofless, unheated Nuyorican Poets Cafe and its mid-90s rise in the pop culture ranks thanks to MTV and Lollapalooza, to its fresh successes on stage and small screen thanks to Russell Simmon's Def Poetry projects and its devoted following among youth poets, queer poets and poets of color, the Poetry Slam is analyzed, idealized and criticized, all from a uniquely New York perspective."--book jacket.