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Poetry in Public Places: Written Verse vs. Spoken Word
By Carlos David Garcia | October 15, 2007
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There is no doubt that the most exposure poetry has had in recent years is through Russell Simmons’ “Def Poetry Jam,” (now known simply as ‘Def Poetry ‘) which has been airing on HBO since 2001. The show is now entering its 6th season and it has maintained an audience by featuring both established hip hop artists a
nd up-and-coming poets which share their verse on a stage before a demanding and animated audience. For those who haven’t seen the show, think: the Apollo meets spoken word (without the clown).
Spoken word is nothing new. However, there is something to be said about the difference between poetry that is spoken aloud and meant to resonate in the moment, and verse that is written on paper which is meant to be scrutinized and interpreted. The spoken word genre was most popular during the 1950s and 60s when poets like Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs created poetry that was meant to be heard more than read. Back then, the largest crowds were not confined to an auditorium where they paid to hear verse that may or may not be worthy. The spoken word crowds were only confined by the girth of the streets of California. The crowds were there because the poetry was part of a culture, the anti-culture that would bring verse to a mass audience and destroy the barriers usually associated with poetry inaccessibility. So, where is the line that separates spoken word from poetry; slam form verse; rap from literature?
Many people consider the lyrics of a song to be poetry set to music. After all, don’t lyricists and writers ultimately perform the same task? When music has lyrical substance, it is noted, the public usually knows the difference between the music you dance to for a few weeks and songs that truly have depth and meaning. So, what is the difference between Bob Dylan and Dylan Thomas; Billy Collins and Billy Joel? The answer seems to require more depth than the question allows. Usually, when verse doesn’t meet the expectations of its audience, the public is quick to point it out. Nevertheless, just as the beat poets shared an immense popularity during their own time, the venues for spoken word artists, good or bad, are surely more numerous than those poets who must rely on their own tenacious submission regimen, and then on the acceptance of faceless editors.
For instance, if one wanted to perform a spoken word piece in the Miami area, he or she could simply sign up to read at the Literary Café in Miami Shores every Saturday night, or the Voice and Souls Showcase in downtown. Sure, any poet could go to a local open mic and read their poetry, however the point is that these audiences are receptive to a certain form of poetry; one that doesn’t necessarily translate from the page to the stage and vice versa. Certainly, I’m not implying that it takes any more talent to produce either spoken word or written poetry, but it does seem like the modern spoken word has transformed into an art form that is far more concentrated on performance and rhythm than the spoken word artists of yesteryear.
One thing seems fairly certain; there are few poems that I read in literary journals (not to mention the 60-year-old poets who write them) that would find an audience in the “Def” world of fast-paced, performance-driven spoken word. In turn, it doesn’t seem likely that any of the pieces performed on the local open-mic stages would be acclaimed by the Paris Review. Yet, both art forms undoubtedly share a loyal, even if somewhat limited, audience and any art form that stems from the written word whether it is spoken word or even some forms of Hip-Hop are surely a tribute to verse and ultimately traditional poetry.
Copyright©2007 Carlos David Garcia
Topics: Poetry Guide, Current News |
November 12th, 2007 at 12:34 am
[…] just read an interesting by Carlos David Garcia that compares written verse with spoken word poetry. The article offers a description of the modern spoken word movement, including a recap of its […]