Spoken word is used as a musical Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses." or entertainment Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as recreations or sports, are more often considered to be recreation. Activities such as personal reading or practicing term, referring to works or performances that consist solely or mostly of one person speaking as if naturally. Musically, this is distinct from rapping Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting , or just rhyming), refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” (rhythm and rhyme), and “delivery”. Rapping is distinct from spoken word poetry in, as rapping incorporates rhythm and sometimes melody, whereas spoken word is more akin to narration or speaking as the person would in conversation, as shown in the song "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)" by Baz Lurhmann. In entertainment, spoken word performances generally consist of storytelling or sometimes poetry Poetry 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. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns, lyrics, or prose poetry. It is published in dedicated magazines (, something exemplified by people like Hedwig Gorski, the originator of performance poetry Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during 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, Mark "Chopper" Read and Henry Rollins Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, raconteur, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist, writer, publisher, actor, radio DJ, and activist. After joining the short-lived Washington D.C.-based band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins.
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History
Spoken word did not evolve until the late 1980s and early 1990s with the emergence of "poetry slams," where spoken word artists would square off in cabaret Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or Emcee (MC)-style duels.[citation needed] This type of competitive slam poetry event has been popular in India for centuries.[citation needed] In the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, the competition of slam poetry probably arose from rap music Hip hop music is a musical genre which developed as part of hip hop culture, and is defined by key stylistic elements such as rapping, DJing, sampling, scratching and beatboxing. Hip hop began in the South Bronx of New York City in the 1970s. The term rap is often used synonymously with hip hop, but hip hop denotes the practices of an entire and rapper competitions.[citation needed] The common element is protest and a critical or corrective tone.[citation needed] Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York City is one of the earliest venues where poets could protest the ills of society.[citation needed] Def Poets on HBO Home Box Office , a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, is an American premium cable television network that broadcasts in over 150 countries became the most visible venue for slam-type protest poets, but the poets did not necessarily compete against each other for audience approval. Hip-hop Hip hop is a modern sub-culture that originated in the late 1970's in New York City. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip-hop culture: MCing, DJing, break-dancing, and graffiti writing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the South Bronx, hip hop culture has spread around the world is now commonly considered under the general genre Genre (pronounced /ˈʒɑːnrə/, also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/; from French, genre , "kind" or "sort", from Latin: genus , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for a category of literature, as well as various other forms of art or culture, based on some loose set of criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time as of spoken word as shown in a recent article by Clare Morgan in the Sydney Morning Herald The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. The newspaper's Sunday edition, The Sun-Herald, is published in tabloid format. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia.[1]
Spoken Word was adopted by college circles in the early 80's to describe a new wave of performing arts that was birthed during Postmodern Art Movement. Spoken Word was basically a catchall phrase to describe anything that didn’t fit into the already established categories of performance arts such as music Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses.", theatre Theatre is a branch of the performing arts. While any performance may be considered theatre, as a performing art, it focuses almost exclusively on live performers creating a self contained drama. A performance qualifies as dramatic by creating a representational illusion. By this broad definition, theatre had existed since the dawn of man, as a, and dance Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.[2]
The Spoken Word movement in the 1980s is similar to the Beats in the 1960’s. Spoken word and the Beats share a mutual lack of respect from the academic community, emphasis on poetry, and poems about consciousness and confession. The main difference is that spoken word is not recognized because it is not published. Many artists and poets have not published any of their works in book forms. Some use video and audio recording, the means used exclusivley by Gorski, who rejected what she called the "dull-drums" of book publishing in the 1980s[3]. Also spoken word is more about spreading all poetry of all diversities; not just about the white male community as was the Beats in the 1960s.[4]
Why People Perform Their Work
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 hegemony. The spoken word, or slam poetry, evolved into the present day soap-box for people to express their views, emotions, life experiences or information. The views of spoken word artists encompass religion, politics, sex and gender. 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 people conscious of some aspect pertaining to life.[5]
Performance
Coffee shops, university lounges, book stores, and public spaces are common venues for spoken word. Many venues hold "Open Mic" nights where a host will allow anyone to sign up and give a performance. Although it is often poetry, many spoken word artists use "Open Mic" nights to present any form of message, be it confession, a political essay, or a call for action. These are often outlets for those who have a message or want to express themselves and bi-pass the prepatory phase of education.
See also
- Performance poetry Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during 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
- List of performance poets
References
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/books/hop-to-it-go-west-for-much-respected-spoken-word/2009/05/22/1242498920480.html
- ^ defining spoken word - Spoken Oak
- ^ http://hedwiggorski.com
- ^ spoken word - MSU
- ^ defining spoken word - Spoken Oak
Categories: Spoken word Categories: Literary movements | Poetry | Performance art | Poetry movements | Poetic form Poetic form refers to various sets of "rules" followed by poems of certain types. The rules may describe such aspects as the rhythm or meter of the poem, its rhyme scheme, or its use of alliteration. This category contains articles discussing such concepts | History of poetry | Methods of writing
