The Nuyorican Poets Café on New York's Lower Eastside, one of the oldest American venues for presenting spoken-word poetry, was founded in 1973. In the 1980s, spoken word competitions - poetry slams - emerged. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam took place in Fort Mason, San Francisco and the poetry slam movement reached a wider audience following "Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam". The Flash will prop the mic as Spoken Word broaden its global beat. Read who's up next in Jacksonville: