“Frenetically high-powered…make(s) poetry sexy again in a way it hasn’t been since the heyday of the Beats. SlamNation could one day be viewed as the genre’s answer to Monterey Pop.
Stephen Holden, The New York Times

 

“SlamNation is as much about cutthroat competition and unforgettable
characters as it is about poetry, and that’s ultimately what makes it
entertaining…”
Nathan Rabin, The Onion

 

“A movie more exciting than pro sports playoffs.”
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

 

“The drama is always full-flame. So is the comedy.”
Film Pick of the Week, LA Weekly

 

“As colorful and chock-full of characters as any pro wrestling match, as peppered with strategy and finesse as Wimbledon… There’s heat, humor, and outrage onstage. It captures the feverishness and the artistry of this national championship with humor and clarity.”
Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe

 

“A pop culture phenonmenon!”
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

 

“Director Paul Devlin’s…unerring instincts illuminate an old fashioned quest for glory, a tale more akin to When We Were Kings than The Belle of Amherst.”
Box Office Magazine

 

“Raw, rhythmic, wicked, exhilarating and, above all, alive!”
Detroit’s Metro Times

 

“The Woodstock of Spoken Word!”
Time Out New York

 

“Filmmaker Paul Devlin’s 1998 documentary SlamNation, [is] a high-energy
story… its new DVD from Docurama shows how open-mic poetry has crossed
over into mainstream culture much like Jazz and Hip Hop. It’s also become a
worldwide phenomenon.”
Cincinnati City Beat

 

Radio Interview with E.G Bailey – American Afrikan

 

“A drama, the likes of which have not been seen since Sylvester Stallone stepped into the ring
with Apollo Creed.”
Richard Bambridge, The Independent Film Video Monthly

 

“Hugely entertaining!”
Russell Smith, The Austin Chronicle

 

“Mesmerizing! Raw Excitement!”
The San Francsico Bay Guardian

 

“A film that stands as the definitive documentary account of this rapidly growing and changing mode of expression”
Movies I Didn’t Get

 

“Articulate, adrenaline-driven performances… combine with Devlin’s fast-paced editing to make SlamNation an exciting and entertaining film.”
Nicholas Paterson, The Boston Phoenix

 

“Dramatic is the key word here. The energy pulses, snaps and crackles!”
Teresa Wiltz, Chicago Tribune

 

“Sometimes style and substance meet and forget who’s who, and sometimes there are flashes of
transcendence. ”
Nick Poppy, indieWIRE

 

“Viewers can’t help getting caught up in the event’s excitment and being simultaneously absorbed by the performers’ craft.”
Larry Worth, New York Post

 

“It’s a surprisingly dynamic and suspenseful view of the tournament, owing much to Devlin’s sports-honed sense of pacing.”
Steve Boone, newyork.citysearch.com

 

“Urgent and eloquent!”
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

 

“Taylor Mali is particularly entertaining, a loudmouthed ironist out for the poetic kill.”
Ken Marks, The New Yorker

 

“Fast, funny, furious and every now and then poignant.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

 

“A lively, fun, educational introduction to this movement. Fierce and
adrenaline-fueled performances deliver palpably the conflict for competitors
between the desire to win and the desire for artistic and genuine
self-expression.”
The Independent