Slam, Dunk, & Hook

“Slam, Dunk, & Hook” takes the form of a long, single stanza, giving it a relentless narrative quality without regular pauses both aurally and visually engendered by the gaps between stanzas. This is typical of the modernist tradition, in contrast to the preference for regular stanza structures preferred by 19th century poets. It can be likened to the playing of a jazz band improvising single songs into 20- or 30-minute versions with repeating hooks and solos from different instruments. Another jazz poetry feature is the variation in line length, between nine to just four syllables in length. As the first and last words in lines tend to receive more emphasis, this has the effect of increasing the number of emphatic words, giving the poem an unrelenting intensity.

The poem’s use of free verse—no fixed meter or rhyme scheme—adds to its unpredictability. Stress patterns are varied and rarely follow the typical unstressed followed by stressed pattern of English poetry. The tone for this is set in the opening line: “Fast breaks. Lay ups” (Line 1), in which every syllable is stressed, creating a heightened tension from the start.