The Newberry is pleased to share that it has acquired the collection of Poetry Slam founder Marc Kelly Smith, who started the long-running poetry series in Chicago in 1984. The collection consists of over 30 linear feet of programs, publicity, audiovisual materials (cassettes, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes), artifacts, and administrative files (physical and digital) documenting the history of the Poetry Slam and its predecessors such as the Chicago Poetry Ensemble.
Smith coined and founded the Poetry Slam, performing first at the Get Me High Lounge in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood in 1984, and then moving it in 1986 to the larger stage at the Green Mill Lounge in Uptown, where it is still held to this day. It is the longest running show at the Green Mill, and the longest running poetry series in the United States. Poetry Slams have become an international phenomenon, occurring on stages, coffee shops, and bars worldwide, across ages and demographics, and taught from grade schools to universities.
The Newberry’s Alison Hinderliter, Curator of Modern Manuscripts, says, “the acquisition of the Marc Kelly Smith Poetry Slam Collection is an amazing gift to the Newberry, and to the city of Chicago. This archive enhances and continues the Newberry’s impressive collections of literature, poetry, social action, and performing arts. It weds the past to the present, providing research materials for the future.”
Other highlights of the collection include Smith’s personal notes, notes for show runs, schedules of poets’ performances, phone number lists, newsletters, and marketing materials such as t-shirts, and a pair of boxing gloves gifted to Smith from artist Tony Fitzpatrick. In addition to all of this, Smith and other poets have donated their books, zines, chapbooks, and anthologies of poetry, many inscribed by the authors.
“People don’t know that the Poetry Slam started right here in Chicago,” Smith says. “The Newberry to me is Chicago. I’m honored to have these materials donated. To me, the voice of the people is connected to the Newberry.”
To honor the acquisition, a celebration will take place at the Newberry on July 25, the 40th anniversary of the first slam event at the Green Mill. On September 26, another event will take place at the Newberry on World Slam Day.
Processing the entirety of the collection will take about three years, as books need to be individually cataloged, and audiovisual materials need to be digitized, uploaded, and identified. However, the majority of manuscript and non-book paper material should be available for viewing at the Newberry by Fall 2026.