In The Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh celebrates the history, culture, and community of the Steel City Slam, from its founding in the early '90s to present day. In this collection, editors Jesse Welch and PEN America Literary Award-winning writer Adriana E. Ram?rez present twenty-nine poems from thirty spoken word artists, including Stacey Waite, Davon Clark, and Leslie Ezra Smith, who are representative of the life and breadth of three decades of competitive slam poetry in Pittsburgh. Each poem is a deep dive into the individual, the collective, the city, and the spirit of the slam. Interviews with founder Christina Springer, Slammaster D.J. Brewer, and the Shadow Lounge owner Justin Strong tell the origin of Pittsburgh's slam poetry movement, the highs and lows of the slam's storied past, and their unique roles in creating a space for budding and established spoken word artists. Every city has its own style, and Pittsburgh's, simultaneously blue collar and deeply academic, is uniquely ours.