Silent Slam (the book)

So it goes that in a poetry slam, a variety of writers are invited to show their prowess with words-live, in front of an audience-and improv their way to the top.

The organizers of Silent Slam switched things around a bit: in April 2005, poets gathered at Toronto’s Drake Hotel for a writing marathon. Each poet was given ten minutes to write brand new material-from scratch. Each poem had to include a set of words supplied to the writers, on the spot.

It was a poetry showdown in which poet Beatriz Hausner emerged triumphant, after her competitors had been eliminated, Survivor-style.

Silent Slam is a documentation of this event and a record of the poetry that was created on this fateful evening.

Quick and dirty, heartfelt, no-nonsense, Silent Slam, the brainchild of Sandra Alland and Meniscus Productions, is a celebration of creativity, and a powerful memento of an event I wish I had been there to witness, the first slam around. (Andrée Lachapelle)

Litzine, Sandra Alland and Meniscus Production, $5