Michael Salinger (born March 2, 1962) is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, performer, and educator living in Northeast

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. He is one of the earliest participants in the National

Poetry Slam A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word, spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry rec ...

, former board member oforganization'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 is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a Performance art, performance before an audience. It covers a variety of styles and genres. History The phenomenon of performance poetry, a kind of poetry specifically m ...

as a means to better

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

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 Cross-training 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 Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s ...

Foundation in

Cleveland Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, 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 A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word, spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. Poetry slams began in Chicago in the 1980s, with the first slam competition designed to move poetry rec ...

. Salinger began performing his poetry in the mid 1980s 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 Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

troupe The Nova Lizard Project during the late 1980s and early 1990s. During this time he married and had two children.

Publications

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 Henderson Sam Henderson (born October 18, 1969) is an American cartoonist, writer, and expert on American comedy history. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series ''Magic Whistle''. He was a contributor to the animated television series ''Sponge ...

) * A Bear in the Kitchen - 2013 - Red Giant Books

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 * High Impact Writing Clinics - 2013 - Corwin Literacy *From Striving to Thriving Writers: Strategies to Jump Start Writing - 2018 - Scholastic

Personal life

He currently lives in Ohio with children’s author Sara Holbrook.

References

*ABOUT:
Piñero & the Poet’s Life
*Michigan Daily

*Magaera Magazin

*Cleveland Museum of Art Education and Researc

*American Journalism Revie
Ode to the Alternative Press
*Cleveland Free Time
The Color of Spit
*Indie Fee
Performer Profile
*Cleveland Poetry Slam Team

External links

outspokenlit.commichaelsalinger.comHeinemann Author's pagepoetryslam.comPSi Poetry Cross Training ConferencePlayhouse Square FoundationCorwin author page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salinger, Michael American male poets Living people 1962 births 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers