Michael Salinger
Encyclopedia
Michael Salinger is a poet
, performer, and educator living in Northeast Ohio
. He is one of the earliest participants in the National Poetry Slam, former board member of Poetry Slam inc., and current director of the organization's summer writing and performance conference. He is the author of teacher professional books and a frequent speaker at teacher conferences and in schools in the US and abroad where he uses performance poetry
as a means to better literacy
and comprehension skills.
Salinger was a member or coach of the team representing Cleveland, Ohio at the National Poetry Slam a dozen times - making two finals stage appearances. He also emceed the individual finals competition of the National Poetry Slam on several occasions.
He is the founding director of Poetry Slam Inc.'s Poetry Crosstraining Conference - a writing and performance seminar held on the campus of SUNY Oneonta the last week of June.
Salinger is the founding instructor of the Slam U program of the Playhouse Square Foundation in Cleveland Ohio. The second largest performing arts institution after Broadway. Here students learn writing and performance skills and have the opportunity to represent the city at Brave New Voices, the youth national poetry slam.
Salinger began performing his poetry in the mid 80s in and around Cleveland Ohio at venues such as the Pearl Road Auto Wrecking Junkstock festivals, created by Daniel Thompson
, and Macs Backs paperbacks in the eclectic Coventry neighborhood.
He gravitated into the poetry slam scene by default as it was just starting to take hold. His stage appearances became more elaborate taking cues from the Dada movement and eventually began involving a cast of characters and makeshift scripts and stage directions resulting in the performance art
troupe The Nova Lizard Project during the late 80s and early 90s. During this time he married and had two children.
He currently lives in Ohio with children’s author Sara Holbrook.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, performer, and educator living in Northeast Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He is one of the earliest participants in the National Poetry Slam, former board member of Poetry Slam inc., and current director of the organization's summer writing and performance conference. He is the author of teacher professional books and a frequent speaker at teacher conferences and in schools in the US and abroad where he uses performance poetry
Performance poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
as a means to better literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
and comprehension skills.
Salinger was a member or coach of the team representing Cleveland, Ohio at the National Poetry Slam a dozen times - making two finals stage appearances. He also emceed the individual finals competition of the National Poetry Slam on several occasions.
He is the founding director of Poetry Slam Inc.'s Poetry Crosstraining Conference - a writing and performance seminar held on the campus of SUNY Oneonta the last week of June.
Salinger is the founding instructor of the Slam U program of the Playhouse Square Foundation in Cleveland Ohio. The second largest performing arts institution after Broadway. Here students learn writing and performance skills and have the opportunity to represent the city at Brave New Voices, the youth national poetry slam.
Salinger began performing his poetry in the mid 80s in and around Cleveland Ohio at venues such as the Pearl Road Auto Wrecking Junkstock festivals, created by Daniel Thompson
Daniel Thompson
Daniel, Dan, or Danny Thompson may refer to:* Daniel Thompson , American poet and activist in Cleveland, Ohio* Danny Thompson , American racing driver...
, and Macs Backs paperbacks in the eclectic Coventry neighborhood.
He gravitated into the poetry slam scene by default as it was just starting to take hold. His stage appearances became more elaborate taking cues from the Dada movement and eventually began involving a cast of characters and makeshift scripts and stage directions resulting in the performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
troupe The Nova Lizard Project during the late 80s and early 90s. During this time he married and had two children.
He currently lives in Ohio with children’s author Sara Holbrook.
Poetry collections
- Big Machines and Wheeled Things - 1986 Burning Press
- RiZZ – 1989 Burning Press
- The One That Got Away – 1994 Wee Albert Press
- Sunday Morning – 1999 – Burning Press
- Neon – 2002 – Bottom Dog Press ( BGSU Firelands)
- They Call it Fishing Not Catching – 2004 – Wordsmith Press
- Stingray - 2007 - Wordsmith Press
- Well Defined - Vocabulary in Rhyme - Spring of 2009 - Boyd's Mills Press (Illustrated by Sam HendersonSam HendersonSam Henderson is an American cartoonist, writer and expert on American comedy history.Henderson attended Boiceville, New York's Onteora High School, graduating in 1987, and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he graduated in 1991.Henderson has been self-publishing xeroxed minicomics...
)
Professional Books
- Outspoken: How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills Through Poetry Performance - 2006 - Heinemann
- High Definition: Unforgettable Vocabulary-Building Strategies Across Genres and Subjects - 2010 - Heinemann