When I was a kid the students used to riot and burn down banks. They protested wars and burnt people in effigy. So I’m on the University of California campus the other day and scratched on the pillar marking the Northside entrance is this chalked announcment: Cal vs Stanford Poetry Slam — at the Bear’s Lair. Oh, how ever-so trendy. A poetry slam. This cornball event of soul-searching and poignancy will be followed by a lot of cryiong and hugging.
For a while the Bears Lair used to be a mini-Nighclub with comics and open mikes for attempts at scathing humor. Now it’s a poetry slam. How Russell Simmons! And does anyone think competitive poetry is a bit silly?
Now if the “slam” was done in a smoke-filled espresso bar with a bunch of beatniks snapping their fingers and a guy on bongos in the corner, it might be OK. At least for laughs.
