Need2Know Time Out defines slam poetry as a form of spoken word performance poetry, held at a competitive poetry event or ‘slam’. Poets perform their own work and are judged by randomly picked members of the watching audience, who vote their favorites by giving them a score.

Slam poetry isn’t just associated with Hip Hop, but a broad spectrum of voices, styles, cultural traditions and approaches to writing and performance.

Need2Know goes on to say that one of the goals of slam poetry is break down the barrier between performer and audience by giving members of the audience a chance to become involved.

Kesed Ragin is a inspiring slam poet, and this video is him performing his climate slam poem at Powershift 2007, a gathering in Washington,DC put on by the Energy Action Coalition. Over 5,000 youth came together to discuss solutions to the climate crisis. An aspect of the event was a Poetry Slam.