Marc Smith

Marc Kelly Smith (born 1949) is an American poet and the founder of the poetry slam movement, which began at Chicago's Green Mill Tavern in 1987 and has since spread to over 500 cities worldwide. A former construction worker, he started writing poetry at age 19 and earned the nickname 'Slam Papi' for his contributions to performance poetry. He grew up on the southeast side of Chicago, attending local schools before revolutionizing spoken word events.