Award-winning documentarian Marc Levin has assembled some interesting material on the subject of poetry slams, but he has a difficult time making the dramatic and documentary elements of his film work together. Ray (Saul Williams), a young black man in prison on a minor drug rap, is the heart of the film. His life is going nowhere before he takes a prison poetry class with a teacher Sonia Sohn, who likes his writing and encourages him to enter poetry slams upon his release. Despite the authenticity of the prison atmosphere, many scenes are unbelievable, and the claims made for poetry's impact are somewhat exaggerated. The romance between poetry teacher Lauren and Ray, while not implausible in a different context, seem out of step with the near-documentary grittiness of much of the film. Nevertheless, the movie has some powerful scenes, most notably a shouting match between the two lovers. The slamming by Sohn and Williams, both real-life poets, yields some of the film's best moments.