POETRY SLAM AS A FORM OF LITERARY ENGAGEMENT: SLAM PERFORMANCES IN LIGHT OF UNSUSTAINABLE GROWTH GOALS

Abstract

In the 1980s, slam poetry emerged, transcending the boundaries of print and academic evaluation to become a global literary movement. Within thirty years, slam poetry evolved from a local artistic gathering in Chicago to an international platform, supported by multilateral projects carried out in non-institutional circles, often by non-governmental organizations like the World Poetry Slam Organization. Slam poetry has been developing as a tool for social reflection and civic engagement. Given that the genre operates outside cultural institutions and academia, its study requires consideration of the social context – the diversity of aesthetics, the skills of the creators, and the wide range of topics they address. Slam poems not only express individual experiences but also reflect social and cultural contexts, demanding an informed research approach based on “listening and observing”, or active participation in the creative process by interacting with the creator and the material during a slam tournament. The aim of the article is to analyze slam statements from three tournaments – the National Slam Poetry Championships (Poznań, Poland), the Coupe du Monde de Slam de Poésie (Paris, France), and the World Poetry Slam Championship (Brussels, Belgium) – taking into account social themes collected within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the global tasks facing countries and their inhabitants that may improve the quality of life by 2030.