What is Spoken Word?

Spoken Word is a modern term for an ancient tradition. Before there was written language, oral traditions were used in every culture to preserve history, communicate news and happenings, and to recount tales from religion and imagination across the world. Even after books began to appear, the tradition of the troubadour and balladeers continued as literacy was not a common skill. In the American West, traveling tradesman knew that the better they were able to tell a story or present the news from other parts of the country, the more apt the community they were visiting was to support them either through purchasing their goods or allowing them to stay in their homes for as long as they had a good tale to tell.

Today, the term Spoken Word is used to refer to several different art forms. The first is literally the spoken word, a person reads aloud from printed material, sometimes recording the reading and turning it into an audio book. The second is a poet who reads their poetry aloud, and the third, most often distinguished from the others by the term Slam Poetry, is a writer who writes specifically for their words to be read aloud, usually emphasizing the beat and meter of the delivery. Slam Poetry is not necessarily poetry, but includes many other styles of writing.

Most people credit the return of Spoken Word as a popular artform to the Beat Movement in the 50s and 60s. One of the hallmarks of the Beat Generation was to begin to read poetry aloud with music.

In the 80s, Spoken Word began to see its renaissance in the urban hip-hop movement. Words and phrases, while remaining important were constructed not just to be accompanied by music, but to become a part of the music themselves. From out of the hip-hop community rose the Slam Poets. Slams are usually elimination competitions in which poets vie for audience popularity, advancing in rounds until a winner emerges. Slamming actually has a historical root in 10th century Japan where Waka competitions were held pitting poet against poet as they tried to win audience approval.

Today, Spoken Word encompasses all oral traditions, poetic or not. It is returning to its roots as an expression of both the private experience of life and a means of communicating experience and happenings within and between communities. Spoken Word can be found across the world at open mics, theaters, bars, on Internet radio stations and recordings of poets, books and monologues are available almost everywhere.

twitter skype verizon spoken word lgbtq gay lesbian cassandra tribe anne waldman mike doty pedro serrano poets poetry workshop philosophy change life stress hope angel rising lgbt american

How is Performance Poetry different?

While sharing the same roots and traditions as Spoken Word, Performance Poetry has evolved into a highly specific artform. In Performance Poetry, the written source is always a poem, there may be music, video, or an installation involved with the performance but the focus of the performer is on the dramatic presentation of the material.

A Performance Poet is more likely to see the use of music as an extension of their words rather than just a means to emphasize them. Closely related to Performance Art, the total presentation that the Performance Poet organizes is as much a part of the poem as the words themselves.

The Top 100 Spoken Word Performers of the Century

* GG Allin * Athens Boys Choir * William S. Burroughs * Brother Dash * Laurie Anderson * John M. Bennett * Jello Biafra * Roger Bonair-Agard * Anne Clark * Joy Cole * John Cooper Clarke * Billy Childish * Steve Connell * Ani DiFranco * Bob Dylan * East of Eden Band * Big Poppa E * HKB FiNN * Allen Ginsberg * John Giorno * Hedwig Gorski * Jesse Glass * John S. Hall * Bradley Hathaway * Gil Scott-Heron * Bob Holman * Jerome Jones * Anthony Joseph * Miranda July * Alan Kaufman * Jack Kerouac * Richard Kostelanetz * Talib Kweli * The Last Poets * Timothy Levitch * Lydia Lunch * Taylor Mali * Douglas A. Martin * Mighty Mike McGee * Gerard McKeown * Anis Mojgani * Lenelle Moise * Jim Morrison * John Most * Ken Nordine * Evalyn Parry * Henry Rollins * Ursula Rucker * Jill Scott * Steve Scott * Beau Sia * Mark E. Smith * Patti Smith * Tony Tremblay * Cassandra Tribe * Buddy Wakefield * Saul Williams * Emanuel Xavier