The Divide in the Black Poetry Movement

Philadelphia Weekly (I'm such a fan of the alternative weeklies) recently published an article that discusses the growing debate in the Black poetry movement. The piece is naturally Philly-focused but asks the question: "do slam competitions hurt poetry?"

I've been to good slams and horrible ones. But I don't think that the concept of the slam hurts poetry. It opens it up to wider audiences and adds a performance element for artists.

Can't slam and traditional written poetry coexist?