With host Marc Smith (pictured above) and featured poet Taylor Mali of NYC (pictured below).
Our original idea for this feature was to record Marc Smith, inventor of the poetry slam, doing his own dynamic, heartfelt poetry on a typical Sunday night at the legendary Green Mill (Chicago, IL, USA) where he has been the most masterful of Master of Ceremonies for over a decade. We wanted to capture Marc’s poetry but also to highlight his marvelous way of working with the crowd and poets throughout the night. Once the mics were turned on, however, we decided to record the entire evening and give you a complete Sunday Evening at the Green Mill. So we let the tape roll and as a result, you can listen to almost two and a half hours of poetry, including the open mic, featured poet Taylor Mali, and a 7-poet slam judged by 3 highly idiosyncratic judges whose qualifications, as Marc attests, are non-existent. The piano accompaniment was masterfully played by David Flippo.
Incidentally, Taylor Mali was a wonderful feature who truly blew the audience away and who you may recognize from his major role in the movie SlamNation.
It was also our good fortune that C. J. Laity of Chicagopoetry.com was there on the night of May 6 and wrote a review which is posted on his website. What a nice reminder of what journalism is for!
Click here to stream the entire show.
Click here to stream just the open mic segment.
Click here to stream just the feature, Taylor Mali.
Click here to stream just the slam contest.
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| 1. Peanuts by Marc Smith | Stream | Download |
| 2. An Introduction to Slam (Marc) | Stream | Download |
| 3. Maria McCrae | Stream | Download |
| 4. Two by Richard Hanks | Stream | Download |
| 5. Audrey Grahame | Stream | Download |
| 6. Virgin Dave | Stream | Download |
| 7. Beer Vendor Bob | Stream | Download |
| 8. Valentine from Cameroon | Stream | Download |
| 9. Mike Kadela | Stream | Download |
| 10. Meta Jones | Stream | Download |
| 11. Otis Takes Us to Oz | Stream | Download |
| 12. Schaumburg Jeff | Stream | Download |
| 13. Randy from Berwyn | Stream | Download |
| 14. Southdside Joe | Stream | Download |
| 15. Miscellany (Marc) | Stream | Download |
| 16. Introducing Taylor Mali | Stream | Download |
| 17. How Falling In Love is Like Owning a Dog (TM) | Stream | Download |
| 18. The Importance of Proofreading (TM) | Stream | Download |
| 19. Labeling Keys (TM) | Stream | Download |
| 20. The Quiet World as read by TM | Stream | Download |
| 21. I Could Be a Poet (TM) | Stream | Download |
| 22. TM gives us a “Political Poem” | Stream | Download |
| 23. A Poem from the Like-Free Zone (TM) | Stream | Download |
| 24. TM On Making a Difference | Stream | Download |
| 25. Marc at the Buckin’ A Cafe | Stream | Download |
| 26. Marc Sings The Stupid Song | Stream | Download |
| 27. Slam Rules and Regs (Marc) | Stream | Download |
| 28. Slammer Alan (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 29. Slammer Patrick (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 30. Slammer Shappy (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 31. Slammer Maggie (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 32. Slammer Timothy Cook (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 33. Slammer Jerome (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 34. Slammer Chris (round 1) | Stream | Download |
| 35. Slammer Timothy Cook (round 2) | Stream | Download |
| 36. Slammer Patrick (round 2) | Stream | Download |
| 37. Slammer Shappy (round 2) | Stream | Download |
| 38. Beckoning from the Bandwagon of Uncertainty (TM encore) | Stream | Download |
| 39. All Hell’s Angels Want to Return to the Womb (TM encore) | Stream | Download |
| 40. Marc Smith Closes with a Sandburg Poem | Stream | Download |
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