What once was a smokily atmospheric Greenwich Village nightclub is now Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx. We're talking about hotbeds of youthful poetry, of course.

And when we say hot, we mean HOT. "Originally, we were going to hold these Knicks Poetry Slam Finals at Madison Square Garden," Knicks Vice President of Community Relations and Fan Development Karin Buchholz said in her introductory remarks. "But the last time we were with you guys the vibe was so incredible that we knew we just had to have it here."

The Slam started with 90 competitors, all participating in a three-week poetry workshop at Knicks partner "Urban Word NYC", all performing their original poems. A trio of preliminaries, held in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, whittled down the field to 12. Though they were clearly all winners, the five best as judged at these Slam Finals were going to form a poetry team competing in New York City (in addition to a number of prizes provided by the Knicks). They will also be honored at an on-court ceremony during a March 29 Knicks vs. Blazers game at The Garden. "The idea was that, through the popularity of rap, hip-hop and poetry, we inspire students to read and write more," said Buchholz. If the sizzling atmosphere at Christopher Columbus was any indication, this mission was well-accomplished.

"The kids were so enthusiastic, after our rehearsal at Urban Word they stayed on an extra couple of hours talking about poetry -- and reading all kinds of other poetry," teacher and poetry coach Vicki Hudspeth said. "This whole thing is about focus, it's about commitment, it's about working out your brain cells," added MC Michael Ellison. "What we are doing here is building a community through the words."

Following the raucous cheers due to the introduction of special guests Allan Houston -- the star guard is a self-confessed "poetry person" -- and seminal rapper L.L. Cool J., the competition began. In the leadoff spot, Koylan Gomez' "Freestyle" spoke of the universal pain of growing up while contemplating an uncertain future. "Is it my fault that my mother suffers from a lack of education and my father's love is tainted? I write and re-write at night the rules of the fright of not succeeding, not achieving."

Taurean Spooner's "Shooting Star" spoke to the innate contradictions of a teenager in search for her true self. "I wish I was living instead of dying, I wish I was happy instead of lying, I hate the simple fact that everybody loves me but me." Then Anthony McCoy's Lennon-esque "Imagine" brought down the house. "Imagine the day revolutionaries get to live out their essence... the day you meet the woman of your dreams and serenade her with songs like 'Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love?' Can you imagine this day with me? 'Cos I'm just a young man with a pen. You may think I'm just a dreamer -- but, like Lennon, not the only one."

Manny Arroyo's "87 to Now" spoke touchingly of an abusive childhood. "I am seven -- facing the wall with someone who calls himself my Dad. No MTV to look at as to my escape, I washed my hair in the shower with my eyes open." Then Columbus' own Octavia Redmond performed "Perspective". "I'm from a place where race matters, I'm from a place where no one sees me. I'm invisible. 'Who am I?' is a question I can not answer. Give me your hand to touch base with my heart."

The 600-plus students in the spacious school auditorium gave a huge hand to Ed Chen who was performing "Ying Yang Man", a poem dealing with Asian stereotypes in a cuttingly humorous-yet-tragic manner. "I think Barnes and Noble is a piece of crap, I will Kung Fu kick you in the chest -- but then I apologize and give you a dozen roses. Sure, I may be castigating myself over the shame, but that is all well. It'll show you how 'ying-yang' I am." Dominque Johnson followed with "That is What I Want." "I want people to stop creating problems for themselves and then blame it on God... I want to be as crucial as an asterisk that creates bleeps."

Allan Houston with Knicks Poetry Slam Finalists. Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty Images

Christan Hill then spun his "What Poetry Means to Me.", a devastatingly clever piece that went through the significance of each letter in the word "poetry". "P is for pen, paper and the poets' palate....O is for the oxygen the poet breathes, hopefully when he gets an ovation...R is for the righteous rebels of writing....Y is for yourself as you yell out -- and, hopefully, don't yawn."

Then Ja'Vaughn Harris returned our thoughts to -- what else? -- love with his "Lost In You". "Without you I'm just living life in vain...I just want to be held in your arms far away from rain." Elizabeth Acevedo's fiery "Not In Your Textbook" was a huge hit. "I am a woman, I am a warrior, with the heart of Xena and the mind of Athena. I will shed blood before tears." Tahani Salah spoke out for universal fairness in "Untitled." "I am reaching levels of anger and anguish....I am justice staring at a void, screaming."

Finally, Kendra Urdang performed a haunting piece about her childhood in another land in "South Africa In My Fist". "We were three little girls black and white in a country that did not want us... Innocence can not reign in a country so full of hate."

Houston was struck into near-speechlessness once the competition was over. "I would not want to be a judge... this was excellent," he said, shaking his head in awe. "I want to encourage you. I want to applaud you. Don't ever limit yourself as to what you can be." LL Cool J., equally impressed, offered an "extra G a piece, an additional thousand dollars to each of the five winners." Who turned out to be, "in no particular order, Dominique Johnson, Elizabeth Acevedo, Octavia Redmond, Anthony McCoy, and Ed Chen."

"Amazing, original...all of you were incredible," LL Cool J said. "What can I say? Listening to you guys, I feel good about the future."