SlamNation

SlamNation follows the four-person Nuyorican Poetry Slam team (Jessica Care Moore, muMs da Schemer, Beau Sia, and Saul Williams), who travel from New York to the 1996 National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon. Get caught up in the excitement and anticipation as the team find themselves among artists from 27 cities who all converge on one place to compete for the title.
 
Along with readings from the event at the Portland State Theater, the film includes slam poetry’s origin story, interviews, and documentation of events happening outside of the venue, as well as cameos by Bob Holman, Alexandra Oliver, Marc Smith, and Patricia Smith. As the competition narrows and the suspense builds, you can’t help but feel the raw power of spoken language. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. (100 mins., 16mm) 
 
The program opens with readings by Columbus-based poets Scott Woods, who founded Streetlight Guild, and Zach Hannah, whose work champions the working class and his Southern Ohio roots.

See the full Sonnets and Cinema series lineup. 

IMAGE CAPTION
SlamNation, courtesy of Paul Devlin.