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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, performer, and educator living in Northeast

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. 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 poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...

, 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 a broad term, encompassing a variety of styles and genres. In brief, it 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 p ...

as a means to better

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

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 ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 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 poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...

. 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 ''Spong ...

) * 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