Marc Smith

Marc Smith is the creator and founder of the International Poetry Slam movement. The PBS television series, The United States of Poetry, stated a “strand of new poetry began at Chicago’s Green Mill Tavern in 1987 when Marc Smith found a home for the Poetry Slam.” Since then, performance poetry has spread throughout the world, exported to hundreds of cities large and small.

Chalking up more than 2,000 engagements in nightclubs, concert halls, libraries, universities – and on top of the occasional hot dog stand – Marc continues to entertain and inspire audiences as diverse and eager as any in the realm of fine arts. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute, Galway’s Cruit Festival, Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, Ausburg’s ABC Brecht Festival, and the Queensland Poetry Fest in Australia. He has hosted over 1,000 standing-room-only shows at the Green Mill’s original slam and has been featured on CNN, 60 Minutes, and National Public Radio. He narrated the Sourcebooks releases Spoken Word Revolution and Spoken Word Revolution Redux. Marc’s volume of poetry, Crowdpleaser (Collage Press), and his CDs, It’s About Time, Quarters in the Juke Box, and Love & Politics are available through his website slampapi.com.