Spoken word is a form of
poetryPoetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express
social commentarySocial commentary is the act of rebelling against an individual, or a group of people by rhetorical means, or commentary on social issues or society...
. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events.
In entertainment, spoken word performances generally consist of storytelling or poetry, exemplified by people like
Hedwig GorskiDr. Hedwig Gorski is an American performance poet and an avant-garde artist who labels her aesthetic as American Futurism...
, the originator of
performance poetryPerformance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution.-History:...
, the lengthy monologues by
Spalding GraySpalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...
, and improvising ranters/commentators like
Henry RollinsHenry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
.
History
Spoken word poetry originated from the poetry of the
Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
and blues music.
Modern day spoken word poetry became popular in the underground African-American community in the 1960s with
the Last PoetsThe Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread...
. The Last Poets was a poetry and political music group that was birthed from the African-American Civil Rights movement.
Spoken word poetry came more towards the mainstream in popularity a short time later when Gil Scott Heron released his spoken word poem
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums...
on the album,
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox-Personnel:* David Barnes – percussion, vocals* Charlie Saunders, Eddie Knowles – congas* Gil Scott-Heron – guitar, piano, vocals* Charles Stewart – cover art* Bob Thiele – producer-External links:* at Discogs...
in 1970.
In the late 1970s Los Angeles poet
Wanda ColemanWanda Coleman is an American poet. She is known as "the L.A. Blueswoman," and "the unofficial poet laureate of Los Angeles."-Biography:...
brought modern spoken word poetry into written form with the release of her poetry collection, Mad Dog, Black Lady in 1979 on Black Sparrow Press.
Spoken Word was adopted by college circles in the early 1980s to describe a new wave of performing arts that was birthed during Postmodern Art Movement.
Many artists and poets have not published any of their works in book forms. Some use video and audio recording, the means used exclusively by
Hedwig GorskiDr. Hedwig Gorski is an American performance poet and an avant-garde artist who labels her aesthetic as American Futurism...
, who rejected what she called the "dull-drums" of book publishing in the 1980s.
Spalding GraySpalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...
's film
Swimming to CambodiaSpalding Gray's Swimming to Cambodia is a 1987 Jonathan Demme-directed performance film. The film is a performance of Spalding Gray's monologue which centered around such themes as his trip to Southeast Asia to create the role of the U.S. Ambassador's aide in The Killing Fields, the Cold War,...
is a well-known example of spoken word, with Gray siting at a desk, talking about his experiences during the filming of
The Killing FieldsThe Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War ....
. Nevertheless, spoken word today is part of the oral culture movement spreading literary expression that includes all minorities and women, unlike the domination by the white male community as was case with the Beats in the 1960s.
The
Nuyorican Poets Café The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
on New York’s Lower Eastside was founded in 1973 and is one of the oldest American venues for presenting spoken word poetry. The Nuyorican Poets Café in 1989 held the first documented poetry slam.
On the West Coast Da Poetry Lounge and
The World StageThe World Stage is an educational and performance arts gallery in Leimert Park Village, Los Angeles. The Stage, as it is affectionately called, was founded in 1989 by the late jazz drummer Billy Higgins and by poet and community arts activist Kamau Daáood....
are two of the oldest venues for spoken word poetry. The World Stage presenting the more literary side of the spoken word tradition and Da Poetry Lounge embracing the more performance side of spoken word tradition.
The Nuyorican Poets Café and Da Poetry Lounge have a close association with the poetry slam movement which was popularized by Russell Simmons’
Def PoetryDef Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
Lounge with both main hosts
Bob HolmanBob Holman is a poet and poetry activist in the United States.- Career :After graduating from Columbia University in 1970, Bob Holman founded, with Sara Miles and Susie Timmons, the NYC Poetry Calendar, a free monthly publication with all the readings and poets "on the same page"...
and Shihan apprearing several times on the show.
Motivation
Since its inception, the spoken word has been an outlet for people to release their views outside the academic and institutional domains of the university and academic or small press. The spoken word and its most popular offshoot, slam poetry, evolved into the present day soap-box for people, especially younger ones, to express their views, emotions, life experiences or information to audiences. The views of spoken word artists encompass frank commentary on religion, politics, sex and gender, often taboo subjects in the world of contemporary academic poetry. When talking about emotion, it depends. A spoken word piece can be powerful with the right emotion behind it but, at the same time, a lack of emotion can set a poem apart. It all depends on the topic. Life experiences are best, especially when the person has actually lived through the experience. Lastly, spoken word is used to inform or make an audience conscious of some human aspect pertaining to life.