Inspired by Beat poetry, Harlem Renaissance, and the U.S. civil rights movement, speaking voice writing is a postmodern literary trend. It’s likely that some of the pieces were first printed and then recited out to an audience after they had been published. Performance poetry is a kind of poetry that is meant to be sung or acted out. Even though some of it is written, this form has its roots in performance and oral tradition. You may find anything from hip-hop to jazz to blues to folk music in the spoken word. Rhythm, repetition, experimentation, and wordplay are common features of spoken word poetry. It is possible to use sound, movement, and other types of performance in these poems to connect with the audience in a unique way.
The spoken word has existed for a very long period. Poetry exploited the sound structure of each language to generate auditory patterns that distinguished spoken poetry from everyday speech and made it easier to recall before it was ever written on paper in any format. The poet must first shout out poetry in order to be heard racial. Poets existed long before the invention of printing presses. Stand-up comedy, a collection of short stories, a challenging message such as a break-up speech, or simply a speech on anything, spoken word poetry can be any of these. Spoken word poetry is defined solely by how it is delivered orally. A spoken word poet’s performance style necessitates a certain level of skill.
The American Beat Poet movement of the 1940s and 1950s was the first to introduce the spoken word to the general public. As a group of writers in New York, they used their work to explore and impact American society at this period in history. For many years now, poets have been using their words to express their dissatisfaction with humanity. This tradition has continued into the 1970s with punk poets like John Cooper Clarke in the U.K. and dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson in Jamaica. In 1990, San Francisco hosted the first National Poetry Slam. A yearly event in different places across America has become the most significant international competition in the poetry slam. Slam poetry competitions have been organized worldwide, in venues ranging from coffeehouses to enormous stages, as a result of its growing popularity.
Writing poetry in the spoken word style has its own set of rules: Rhyme, rhythm (beats and breaks), diction, and parallel sentence structure are all examples of how to incorporate these elements into a poem. It is essential to pay attention to gestures, eye contact, intonation, expression, and body language to provide an effective presentation. Using Specific Words and Phrases, be sure to choose words and phrases that elicit solid mental images, sounds, and movements in your audience. Listeners will be able to see, smell, and taste what you’re saying if the poem is complete with imagery. Repetition, a repeat of a core phrase or picture, along with an expansion of an image and a concept for each repetition, can assist a writer in developing engaging poems. Rhyming, for example, can enhance poetry and performances if employed with skill, surprise, and moderation.
Poetry is a vehicle for expressing one’s thoughts and feelings. There is only one poet’s view of the universe and no one else. There must be courage in a spoken word poem to communicate one’s thoughts and feelings to the world. Spoken word poetry allows one to be anybody they wish to be. A poet can write a poem in the voice of someone or something other than oneself or with a personality attribute that is different from their own.
Spoken word has been one of the most significant literary movements recently. It teaches basic communication abilities. Each draft is a new discussion, another opportunity to deliver the point again concisely and effectively. Every poem becomes a conversation between the poet and the audience and the poet and themselves. It stimulates contemplation. Utilizing poetry in the classroom urges students to look not to pop culture or their peers to build their identity but to their own experiences. Their confidence rises with their perspective. Allowing students to express themselves in an encouraging atmosphere switches the traditional academic paradigm to making them the center of their educational experience. It is also an act of reclamation. With a pen and paper, children are given the rare capacity to generate something tangible and constructive from any life experience, self-empowerment. In this sense, spoken word poetry allows young people to become active agents in their rehabilitation. It will enable cathartic release and emotional processing that eventually adds to a more holistic pedagogical space.
It fosters a culture of listening actively. The spoken word is just as vital as a platform for expression for young people. It is especially essential when addressing underrepresented narratives or student demographics that are more varied. Performance poetry provides a safe platform for people to share their personal experiences without feeling like they are being compelled to divulge too much information. Regardless of what we’re going through, we aren’t alone in our feelings and thoughts. For far too long, young people have been trained to hide their true selves because of their perceived flaws, differences, and even emotions. As a mirror and a megaphone, poetry does the opposite. In this way, the poet’s personal experience is validated and linked to the poet’s competition standard in spoken-word poetry competitions. Thoughtful people speak their thoughts more clearly than write them down, even though they are the exact words.
For one thing, the spoken word doesn’t have the intellectual and arcane following of much-written poetry; you don’t need a literature degree to get into the spoken word; you just need an open mind and an eagerness for storytelling. The spoken word may be therapeutic and emotional, and poetry is meant to be felt rather than comprehended. There’s a place for new ideas to be discussed. Something about the spoken word inspires people to question the world around them and cast a discerning eye. Speaking word is an informal, engaging performance, putting the concepts to life via movement and voice. It’s a pleasant experience to be in a room with a person openly sharing their thoughts and feelings with you, and it will leave a person craving more.
Poems read aloud are often more than just a creative outlet for a person’s inner thoughts and feelings. The message conveyed by this art style is typically important or contentious. Racial inequality, sexual assault, sexual coercion, anti-bullying communications, body-positive campaigns, and LGBT issues are just a few of the issues addressed in these types of communications. It is common in Slam Poetry competitions for the poems’ content to be raucous and sound. Additionally, we can find spoken-word poetry on YouTube and in forums like Button Poetry. Poetry that goes viral on social media can be found in TED Talks and articles and on social media platforms like Twitter.
A form of art that anyone may participate in is the spoken word. All you need is a pencil and paper; no other equipment is required. The terms will one day alter the world, but first, we must change ourselves. Each one must share our heartbreaks, puppy wake-ups, first kisses, and significant experiences in tiny communities with each other. We can make spoken word poetry whatever we want it to be.