Chapbooks and Poetry Slams

Today was unusually pleasant for a Tuesday. A semi-famous writerly type came and spoke in my English class for a couple hours. I'd heard about him, because he teaches at my university, and a lot of students raved about his excellence as a prof, but I didn't pay much attention until he came to my class. Then I realized the reports were pretty accurate. To make a long story short, he was an great story teller who'd done some interesting things.

My brain, traitorous creature, refuses to compile a witty summary of his exploits. In any case, he probably tells them best. I'll just content myself with latching on to some of the things he said. Apparently, "chapbooks" are becoming popular. As far as I can tell, a chapbook is just a compilation of writing, usually sold off the stage at poetry slams or similar reading events.

Sold off the stage. Madly inspiring or what?

Of course, going to a poetry slam would be hard if you don't like the idea of baring your soul to a bunch of artsy fartsy strangers. On the other hand, it's oddly fascinating. I can't tear my thoughts away from it. Entering a poetry slam has at least two benefits:
1) You meet people. People are interesting, and the connections you form with them can be the basis for your writing. You can hear or read their work, too.
2) You get feedback on your own work. You'll be able to scratch that ever present mental itch that wonders "Is my work good?"

I want to know what people think. I want to write something good. And I want to read what other people write, because it might be good too. I'm not only talking about finished products. The rough, unpolished stuff of notebooks (most writers have one, I think) shows the great diversity in the ways that people think.
How do people categorize the world? What do they choose to communicate? Which words are attractive to us, and why? It's fascinating stuff, especially in its infancy - in notebooks, chap books and poetry slams.