Spoken word

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about a performance art. For the 2009 film, see Spoken Word (film).
Spoken word poet Erika Renee Land performing at the Newberry Library in Chicago during the Surviving The Long Wars Triennial.
Spoken-word poet Omar Musa reading his work at the Jaipur Literature Festival

Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play, such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, pianologues, musical readings, and hip hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues.[1] Unlike written poetry, the poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics, or the aesthetics of sound.

History

Spoken word has existed for many years; long before writing, through a cycle of practicing, listening and memorizing, each language drew on its resources of sound structure for aural patterns that made spoken poetry very different from ordinary discourse and easier to commit to memory.[2] "There were poets long before there were printing presses, poetry is primarily oral utterance, to be said aloud, to be heard."[3]

Poetry, like

euphony or onomatopoeia, a device to represent a thing or action by a word that imitates sound.[4] "Speak again, Speak like rain" was how a poet of the Kikuyu people, an East African people, described her verse to author Isak Dinesen,[5] confirming a comment by T. S. Eliot that "poetry remains one person talking to another".[6]

The oral tradition is one that is conveyed primarily by speech as opposed to writing,

maxims) are convenient vehicles for conveying simple beliefs and cultural attitudes.[8] "The hearing knowledge we bring to a line of poetry is a knowledge of a pattern of speech we have known since we were infants".[9]

Performance poetry, which is kindred to performance art, is explicitly written to be performed aloud[10] and consciously shuns the written form.[11] "Form", as Donald Hall records "was never more than an extension of content."[12] Performance poetry in Africa dates to prehistorical times with the creation of hunting poetry, while elegiac and panegyric court poetry were developed extensively throughout the history of the empires of the Nile, Niger and Volta river valleys.[13] One of the best known griot epic poems was created for the founder of the Mali Empire, the Epic of Sundiata. In African culture, performance poetry is a part of theatrics, which was present in all aspects of pre-colonial African life[14] and whose theatrical ceremonies had many different functions: political, educative, spiritual and entertainment. Poetics were an element of theatrical performances of local oral artists, linguists and historians, accompanied by local instruments of the people such as the kora, the xalam, the mbira and the djembe drum. Drumming for accompaniment is not to be confused with performances of the "talking drum", which is a literature of its own, since it is a distinct method of communication that depends on conveying meaning through non-musical grammatical, tonal and rhythmic rules imitating speech.[15][16] Although, they could be included in performances of the griots.

The poet and ethnographer

Papusza, who Ficowski discovered when he was following gypsy caravans on the road. Ficowski had her work translated and published, and she went on to become one of Poland's most iconic poets. [17]

In ancient Greece, the spoken word was the most trusted repository for the best of their thought, and inducements would be offered to men (such as the rhapsodes) who set themselves the task of developing minds capable of retaining and voices capable of communicating the treasures of their culture.[18] The ancient Greeks included Greek lyric, which is similar to spoken-word poetry, in their Olympic Games.[19]

Development in the United States

In 1849, the Home Journal wrote about concerts that combined spoken word recitations with music, as demonstrated by actresses Sophie Schroder and Fanny Kemble.[20]

Vachel Lindsay helped maintain the tradition of poetry as spoken art in the early twentieth century.[21] Composers such as Marion Bauer, Ruth Crawford Seegar, and Lalla Ryckoff composed music to be combined with spoken words.[20] Robert Frost also spoke well, his meter accommodating his natural sentences.[22] Poet laureate Robert Pinsky said: "Poetry's proper culmination is to be read aloud by someone's voice, whoever reads a poem aloud becomes the proper medium for the poem."[23] "Every speaker intuitively courses through manipulation of sounds, it is almost as though 'we sing to one another all day'."[9] "Sound once imagined through the eye gradually gave body to poems through performance, and late in the 1950s reading aloud erupted in the United States."[22]

Some American spoken-word poetry originated from the poetry of the

slam poetry artists were inspired by poets such as Hughes in their word stylings.[26]

The

Civil Rights Movement and helped increase the popularity of spoken word within African-American culture.[27] Spoken word poetry entered into wider American culture following the release of Gil Scott-Heron's spoken-word poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" on the album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in 1970.[28]

The Nuyorican Poets Café on New York's Lower Eastside was founded in 1973, and is one of the oldest American venues for presenting spoken-word poetry.[29]

In the 1980s, spoken-word poetry competitions, often with elimination rounds, emerged and were labelled "

Def Poetry, which was aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The poets associated with the Buffalo Readings
were active early in the 21st century.

International development

Kenyan spoken word poet Mumbi Macharia

Outside of the United States, artists such as French singer-songwriters Léo Ferré and Serge Gainsbourg made personal use of spoken word over rock or symphonic music from the beginning of the 1970s in such albums as Amour Anarchie (1970), Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971), and Il n'y a plus rien (1973), and contributed to the popularization of spoken word within French culture.

In the UK, musicians who have performed spoken-word lyrics include Blur,[31] The Streets and Kae Tempest.

In 2003, the movement reached its peak in France with Fabien Marsaud aka Grand Corps Malade being a forerunner of the genre.[32][33]

In Zimbabwe, spoken word has been mostly active on stage through the House of Hunger Poetry slam in Harare, Mlomo Wakho Poetry Slam in Bulawayo as well as the Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo. Festivals such as Harare International Festival of the Arts, Intwa Arts Festival KoBulawayo and Shoko Festival have supported the genre for a number of years.[34]

In

First Citizens Bank
called "The First Citizens national Poetry Slam", formerly called "Verses". This organization also hosts poetry slams and workshops for primary and secondary schools. It is also involved in social work and issues.

In

spoken-word poets including Mutombo da Poet,[35] Chief Moomen, Nana Asaase, RhymeSonny, Koo Kumi
, Hondred Percent, Jewel King, Faiba Bernard, Akambo, Wordrite, Natty Ogli, and Philipa. The spoken-word movement in Ghana is rapidly growing that individual spoken-word artists like MEGBORNA,[36] are continuously carving a niche for themselves and stretching the borders of spoken word by combining spoken word with 3D animations and spoken-word video game, based on his yet to be released poem, Alkebulan.

Megborna performing at the First Kvngs Edition of the Megborna Concert, 2019

In

KNUST
giving platform to poets and other creatives. Poets like Elidior The Poet, Slimo, T-Maine are key members of this group.

In Kenya, poetry performance grew significantly between the late 1990s and early 2000s. This was through organisers and creative hubs such as Kwani Open Mic, Slam Africa, Waamathai's, Poetry at Discovery, Hisia Zangu Poetry, Poetry Slam Africa, Paza Sauti, Anika, Fatuma's Voice, ESPA, Sauti dada, Wenyewe poetry among others. Soon the movement moved to other counties and to universities throughout the country. Spoken word in Kenya has been a means of communication where poets can speak about issues affecting young people in Africa. Some of the well known poets in Kenya are Dorphan, Kenner B, Namatsi Lukoye, Raya Wambui, Wanjiku Mwaura, Teardrops, Mufasa, Mumbi Macharia, Qui Qarre, Sitawa Namwalie, Sitawa Wafula, Anne Moraa, Ngwatilo Mawiyo, Stephen Derwent.[37]

Competitions

Judges from a poetry slam listen to the contestants.

Spoken-word poetry is often performed in a competitive setting. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam was held in San Francisco.[19] It is the largest poetry slam competition event in the world, now held each year in different cities across the United States.[38] The popularity of slam poetry has resulted in slam poetry competitions being held across the world, at venues ranging from coffeehouses to large stages.

Movement

Spoken-word poetry is typically more than a hobby or expression of talent. This art form is often used to convey important or controversial messages to society. Such messages often include raising awareness of topics such as: racial inequality, sexual assault and/or

TED talks, and on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
.

See also

References

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  6. ^ Eliot, T. S. (1942), "The Music of Poetry" (lecture). Glasgow: Jackson.
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  8. ^ Ong, Walter J. (1982). Orality and Literacy: Cultural Attitudes. Metheun.
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780374526177
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  11. ^ Parker, Sam (16 December 2009). "Three-minute poetry? It's all the rage". The Times.
  12. ^ Olson, Charles (1950). "'Projective Verse': Essay on Poetic Theory". Pamphlet.
  13. ^ Finnegan, Ruth (2012), Oral Literature in Africa, Open Book Publishers.
  14. ^ John Conteh-Morgan, John (1994), "African Traditional Drama and Issues in Theater and Performance Criticism", Comparative Drama.
  15. ^ Finnegan (2012), Oral Literature in Africa, pp. 467–484.
  16. ^ Stern, Theodore (1957), Drum and Whistle Languages: An Analysis of Speech Surrogates, University of Oregon.
  17. ISBN 978-8322323212
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  18. ^ Bahn, Eugene; Bahn, Margaret L. (1970). A History of Oral Performance. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Burgess. p. 10.
  19. ^ a b c Glazner, Gary Mex (2000). Poetry Slam: The Competitive Art of Performance Poetry. San Francisco: Manic D.
  20. ^
    ISBN 978-0-252-09915-1
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  21. ^ 'Reading list, Biography – Vachel Lindsay' Poetry Foundation.org Chicago 2015
  22. ^ a b Hall, Donald (26 October 2012). "Thank You Thank You". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  23. ^ Sleigh, Tom (Summer 1998). "Robert Pinsky". Bomb.
  24. ISBN 978-1-933368-82-5
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  26. ^ a b "Say It Loud: African American Spoken Word". Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  27. ^ "The Last Poets". www.nsm.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  28. ^ Sisario, Ben (28 May 2011), Ben Sisario, "Gil Scott-Heron, Voice of Black Protest Culture, Dies at 62", The New York Times.
  29. ^ "The History of Nuyorican Poetry Slam" Archived 1 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Verbs on Asphalt.
  30. ^ "PSI FAQ: National Poetry Slam". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  31. ^ DeGroot, Joey (23 April 2014). "7 Great songs with Spoken Word Lyrics". MusicTimes.com.
  32. ^ "Grand Corps Malade - Biography | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  33. ^ "Grand Corps Malade". France Today. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  34. ^ Muchuri, Tinashe (14 May 2016). "Honour Eludes local writers". NewsDay. Zimbabwe. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Mutombo The Poet of Ghana presents Africa's spoken word to the world". TheAfricanDream.net. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  36. ^ "Meet KNUST finest spoken word artist, Chris Parker 'Megborna'". hypercitigh.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021.
  37. ISSN 2732-4605
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  38. ^ Poetry Slam, Inc. Web. 28 November 2012.
  39. ^ "Home - Button Poetry". Button Poetry.

Further reading

External links

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