Poetry slams are competitions where poets perform their poems in front of an audience and judges.

VOA: special.2009.04.27

someone, if they're just starting out in their career, can maybe build an audience,

如果有人刚刚开始他的事业，他可能是想吸引观众，

街头表演的魅力 - SpeakingMax英语口语达人

They see it as an opportunity to showcase their country to hundreds of thousands of visiting fans and a worldwide television audience of hundreds of millions.

VOA: standard.2010.02.10

So there is a fear and I think that is what this change is tapping into, a grumpy,worried national audience that is very,very concerned that somehow when their lives are somewhat fragile, things are going to even erode or crack further,"

VOA: standard.2009.08.17