Spoken Word Poetry is a type of poetry written from an author’s passions and experiences. It is a platform that allows a performer and the writer to share their inner thoughts, queries about life, and passions on a stage format.
The reason why Spoken Word is so popular is that it allows a poet, writer, performer to share and showcase their inner emotive thoughts, passions, questions, queries, justifications, and points of view, in an environment that supports a performative expression on the stage.
Performance Art Is Where Performers Speak aloud their Inner Expressions
Spoken Word poetry although done throughout the ages even since ancient Greek Theatrical ages is a very effective way to Express and portray oneself on a performative basis.
Not only does spoken word allow an audience to connect with the written word, but also the performer at hand.
When a well-written poem is performed well, the audience connects better not only with the material but with the performer as well.
Research also suggests that poets themselves, gain benefits from speaking their poetry aloud.
An article from Researchgate.net has stated that connecting with a community, having a form of communication, emotional development, and having an internal drive to write and perform help the poets to feel balanced in everyday life.
In other words, poets who choose to express themselves out loud using this format stand to gain many benefits emotionally and psychologically.
Those readers who see themselves as budding poets would do well to rehearse their work and find a forum or platform to perform.
The Audience Provides a Visceral Feedback to the Performing Poet
Most people love feedback and especially positive feedback. It serves to reinforce and uplift one’s self-esteem.
The captivated looks from the crowd and the instant positive feedback from the crowd. Not only is it reassuring but addictive as well.
Spoken Word is Akin to a Dialogue than a Monolouge
There is also research that suggests that Spoken Word although sounds like a Monologue is actually more of a dialogue.
Because Spoken Word Poetry tends to be emotional and thought-provoking in a visceral sense, the audience perceives the work as a dialogue in which they internally react.
The language utilized in poems is often more expressive, emotive and it feels as though the message is directed at the listener.
The listener is provoked in an emotional way when the material hits closer to home than say a monologue written many centuries ago by a playwright. Why? Because it’s more visceral, more present, and relateable.
Spoken Word Poetry Utilizes The Voice And Body
Spoken if spoken with passion and deliberate connection can be powerful, especially when the body is employed.
Writing a Simply Spoken Word Poem is a Matter of Using your Senses
I have taught beginning and budding poets to write a simple sense poem using their inner thoughts, wants, needs, and passions.
It is important that you model your spoken word poetry to others as you write, especially if you are teaching the model.
But if you are wanting to learn how to write a sense poem and utilize it as a spoken word poem, it’s relatively easy to do.
A Sense Poem Uses All Our Sense for Best Effect
Imagine you are experiencing some kind of emotion such as grief, sadness, despair, exhilaration and joy. What is a good way to begin your Spoken word or sense poem?
I begin with sight, smell, touch, hearing, and our intuition with an emotion.
If you want a Power Point of this Spoken Word Poetry which is editable, please download the link here for free. Do pin the image to your Pinterest boards.
Some Well Known Spoken Word Videos
Here are a range of
This is Spoken Word by Olivia Vella who recited a powerful poem about insecurities for her seventh grade writing class. This is a very powerful poem for those students who are in the middle grade facing this very issue.
I personally set a task for my middle school students to write a spoken word poem from the heart using the five senses. I was so impressed with what many of the students came up with. Many students came from their hearts and their poems were very inspirational.
During our Covid lockdown students had to write their passionate sense poetry as a spoken word poem. What I found interesting was that low ability and high ability students were able to write a poem with spoke to the heart.
Performing for Shy Students
Because I had very shy students who didn’t want to share their poems out loud and were completely petrified, I had them perform their poems on Flip Grid which is a site designed for students to speak and present material. They can even hide their faces from the public if they want to. At the time I used this type of poetry with my students there wasn’t a function for students to perform without it being accessed by other students.
What is Poetry slam?
Poetry Slam is a type of Spoken Word Poetry which combines spoken word, performance and competition. It was devised in 1986, hosted by Marc at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge in Uptown Chicago. He wanted to bring poetry and performance together and make it for the people. This style of poetry is a lot of fun.
Basically the audience becomes the judges. Five judges from the audience gets to judge people’s poetry out of 10. Out of the five, the highest and lowest scores were dropped and the three remaining scores were added to give the poet an overall score. Whoever had the highest score at the end of the competition was deemed the winner. source
There are certain rules:
- Anyone can apply to perform
- Poems can be about any subject but are supposed to be written by the poet
- Poems should not exceed a 3 minutes time limit otherwise points will be deducted.
- Poets cannot use props
- Poets can sing, clap, hum, or make noise with the mouth or other body parts, but they cannot use musical accompaniment.
- Poems can be performed in pairs, groups or individually.
This type of poetry and make for an exciting night, however other examples really tug at the inner core of ourselves here is an example from Slamfind on Youtube.
Why do people love to perform and listen to Poetry slam material? It’s mainly because it is accessible and relatable. Most people can find something within a heart felt poem spoken with passion.
Poetry Slams are now performed all over the United States but also all over the world. I highly recommend any budding spoken word artist to write their work and rehearse it well.
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How to rehearse Your Spoken Word Poetry
How to learn your words:
There are a number of ways to learn your words as do actors. You can do the tried and true way of going over the lines, stanzas over and over until it becomes second nature and rolls off the tongue.
Make sure your poem isn’t spoken too quickly in-fact a great way of emphasizing your work is to do the following. This is a-great technique I’ve used with adult and middle school students. It’s really effective when you recite your words out loud.
For example:
The immense pounding of your soul,/ seeping through your body//
A million,/ beckoning,/ painful /voices, //reaching/ up to nothing.
Cries of sharp pain,// piercing my very life,/ into cuts of the sharp void.//
In other words, you are emphasizing the nouns and elongating the verbs. When you do this, your poem is correctly emphasized and when read out loud will blend nicely with the audiences expectations.
Whisper Your Poetry Out Loud to Yourself
Whispering Your Words Aloud, you automatically emphasise the words correctly, this is because you aren’t criticising or judging the sound of your voice or whether you are pronouncing the words, stanzas correctly.
When we do judge ourselves, we tend to become more narrow minded in our thinking. We aren’t able to see the larger picture, but notice our flaws and therefore feel as though we are unauthentic in all Spoken Poetry exercises and performances.
But when we are in the flow of our words, and have developed the muscle memory and confidence to deliver words as they should naturally fall, we do ourselves justice.
Try whispering your words out loud and record yourself. Then begin to slowly add in your voiced words.
The Performance of your Poetry
Using Your Inner Passion is a Must when Performing
This really goes without saying. If you’re merely reciting words for the sake of an exercise fine, but if you’re performing to move people emotionally while you’re at it, then you must use your inner passion.
Firstly your poetry should be written by you. You must ensure that your voice in inherent within the work. What message are you trying to portray to the audience? What kind of reaction and feeling are you trying to elicit from them?
If you are using your passionate, persuasive performance technique, your words should touch them in a visceral way.
Your voice, body language and facial features, should align to portray what it is you want to say. Open yourself up to the audience. Don’t fold your arms or sway all over the stage. Keep still and focused.
If you’re going to use choreography, make sure it compliments and doesn’t take away from the overall message of your poetry.
Ultimately your poetry should speak to the audience for them to receive a kind of cathartic experience, where they have that aha moment. You are a servant to the audience.
When you come from an authentic, passionate point of view your audience will likely feel your pain, hurt, disappointment, grief, sadness, elation and joy with you.