What Is Spoken Word Poetry

Spoken Word Poetry

Poetry & Spoken Word: What's the difference?

Poetry is an art where special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm along with the implementation of literary tools known as poetic devices.

Spoken word is a type of poetry that is geared to be performed onstage for an audience rather than merely exist in print somewhere for others to read. It's poetry that is meant to be shared.

Spoken word is often associated with a younger demographic and/or a hip-hop culture and lifestyle. To me, that's ignorance - and plenty of the blogs on this site will prove that. But I also understand the sort-of-misconception. We live in an era of social media. That means when people search Google, check out YouTube, see what's being Tweeted, etc., they are mostly seeing a certain type of slam poetry that is easy to tie to this stereotype. These "slam poems" that people are tying to all things Spoken Word generally cover different kinds of social issues and, again, are tied to the views of younger generations (millennials, really). And although I think this really is a way to throw an art form into a bucket so it can be essentially ignored by much of society, I think that the youth of today are doing Spoken Word really well - they are using it for expression. They're doing it in a manner that teaches. And most of all, they're writing and performing in a way that sticks - hopefully for years to come.

So while Spoken Word is certainly one form of poetry, its characteristic of being created to be performed for an audience make it simply a subset of the art of poetry. And its roots are deep...
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Where Did Spoken Word Poetry Start?
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The history of spoken word poetry can't accurately be traced or attributed to one region or time period where it was indigenous. The reason there is not a single inception date or place is very simple: Spoken Word Poetry is a natural evolution of humans' need to convey messages through captivating stories. That's why you can read about Spoken Word in so many places and hear so many different versions of its history. None are wrong; they are simply incomplete.

I'm not writing this to try to complete the history of Spoken Word poetry. It might actually be impossible if you think about the civilizations we don't have any records or knowledge of; there's a good chance they all had their own version of the art of words.  The bottom line is that regardless of what race, creed or generation of people you are studying, it's likely that an elaborate form of storytelling was used in some way - folklore, song, and rhythmic messages are historic tools native to all people.
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Spoken Word Poetry Today
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Spoken Word poetry has gained traction in the US and globally, gaining attention and audiences comprised of  sports stars, politics, music stars, media and even Hollywood. From large stages to coffee shops to school campuses to public parks to kids' sleepover parties, Spoken Word is happening. Its happening and its growing - in some cases just as a private way for groups to connect and identify, in other cases taking the form of national "Poetry Slams."

And Spoken Word has a place for everyone. If you want to perform, the stage is yours. If you want to observe, artists are making poetry for you to hear. If you want to judge - well, check out a poetry slam, you can do that to.

This post is shorter than my usual, but if you have some interest in Spoken Word and Poetry Slams, please do check out my blog and even some of my poetry. Hopefully something inspires you or resonates :)