Spoken word

Spoken word

Spoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. Spoken-word is often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker.

One of the most common sorts of spoken word performances is performance poetry, where a poet either reads previously-published poems, or reads poems specifically written to be performed aloud. Another kind that has gained popularity in recent years is political and social commentary, done in such a way that it is, while still prose, somewhat more artistic than a typical speech. Spoken word artists are often poets and musicians. Spoken word gained notoriety in the late 1980s and early 1990s through the emergence of "poetry slams," where spoken word artists would square off in cabaret-style duels.

Brief history of Spoken Word in the 1990s

In the 1990s, the poetry scene in the United States saw an increased interest in spoken word poetry. This, however, was not the first emergence of spoken word. Spoken word, or poetry spoken aloud, was pioneered in the days of troubadours and storytellers who would recite their poetry aloud to gain recognition. It was not until the invention of the printing press that the emphasis on performance poetry shifted to publishing because of the possibility of increasing the works’ availability. Again, in the 1950s and 1960s, spoken word was revived. The Beats began using spoken word to express their anti-academic beliefs, and their dislike of societal norms. Then spoken word slipped under the mainstream radar again, until the 1990s. The strong, aggressive and, frank style of poetry in the 1990s caused for another surfacing of spoken word in mainstream society. Unlike The Beats, this emergence of spoken word was not necessarily politically driven. This movement focused more on increasing diversity among its performers, reaching out inspiring amateur practitioners, and sending messages of positivity and tolerance. In short, the movement was about bringing poetry back to the people. Poets such as Maggie Estep, Reg E. Gaines, Henry Rollins, John S. Hall and Dana Bryant each gained acclaim as spoken word artist as the art form made it to the television screen. MTV took notice of this demand for spoken word entertainment in the mid 1990s. MTV created a television show “Spoken Word Unplugged” to showcase major talents of the movement, but the flame fizzled before a massive interest could take hold. Most of the performers of the generation have branched out into other fields, notably novel writing.

Notable performers

Performance poetry

*GG Allin
*AMANYIA
*Athens Boys Choir
* [http://www.sofiabaig.com Sofia Baig]
*William S. Burroughs
*Brother Dash
*Laurie Anderson
*John M. Bennett
*Jello Biafra
*Max Blagg
*Roger Bonair-Agard
*Derrick C. Brown
*Anne Clark
*John Cooper Clarke
*Ernest Cline
*Billy Childish
*Steve Connell
*Ani DiFranco
*Laura Dockrill
*Big Poppa E
*HKB FiNN
*GiGi
*Allen Ginsberg
*John Giorno
*Jesse Glass
*Hedwig Gorski
*John S. Hall
*Bradley Hathaway
*Colin Hay
*Daniel Higgs
*Gil Scott-Heron
*Lauryn Hill
*Bob Holman
*Jandek
*Bridget Rize Jones
*Jerome "J-Square" Jones
*Joolz
*Anthony Joseph
*Miranda July
*Alan Kaufman
*Jack Kerouac
*Richard Kostelanetz
*Shane Koyczan
*Talib Kweli
*The Last Poets
*David Lerner
*Timothy "Speed" Levitch
*Eve Libertine
*Lydia Lunch
*Taylor Mali
*Sam Marshall
*Kevin Matthews
*Mighty Mike McGee
*Gerard McKeown
*Rove McManus
*Susan McMaster
*Anis Mojgani
*Lenelle Moise
*Jim Morrison
*Colin Morton
*John Most
*Ken Nordine
*Evalyn Parry
*Henry Rollins
*Ursula Rucker
*Michael Salinger
*Sonia Sanchez
*Jill Scott
*Steve Scott
*Beau Sia
*Shihan van Clief
*Mark E. Smith
*Patti Smith
*Nicky Spesh
*The Subliminator
*Rod Summers
*Serj Tankian
*Robbie Q. Telfer
*Tony Tremblay
*Cassandra Tribe
*Buddy Wakefield
*Tom Waits
*Tai Mahmud
*Saul Williams
*Amir Sulaiman
*Sheri-D Wilson
*Jenilynn
*Emanuel Xavier
*Rozz Williams
*Tom Winter
*Jason Wright
*Mali Woods

Comedians and other artists

*Victor Borge
*Lenny Bruce
*Rives
*Lila Sakura
*Henry Rollins
*Chris Rock
*Robin Williams
*Alan Moore

Actors and actresses

*Judith Anderson
*Ed Begley
*Claire Bloom
*Richard Burton
*Jose Ferrer
*Albert Finney
*John Gielgud
*Cedric Hardwicke
*Dennis Hopper
*James Mason
*Siobhán McKenna
*Laurence Olivier
*Tyrone Power
*Vincent Price
*Anthony Quayle
*Michael Redgrave
*Ralph Richardson
*Maggie Smith
*William Shatner
*Miranda July

ee also

* Audiobooks
* Speech
* Spoken word soul
* Voice acting

References

* [http://www.msu.edu/~miazgama/spokenword.htm Spoken Word Movement]
* [http://www.musicandthespokenword.com/history/index.php Music & the Spoken Word]

External links

* [http://www.soulkiller.lilasakura.com Lila Sakura Dark Spoken Word]
* [http://www.palabraymusica.org]
* [http://www.dropmagazine.com/is-there-a-future-for-spoken-word/ Is There A Future For Spoken Word? @ dropmagazine.com]
* [http://www.taimahmud.com Tai Mahmud - Unique music fused spoken word]
* [http://www.amirsulaiman.com Amir Sulaiman]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfXKq6ghfTI Video of a spoken word piece]
* [http://www.myspace.com/acousticpeace unique spoken word & improvised music]
* [http://www.muslimspokenword.com Muslim Spoken Word]
* [http://www.writeoutloud.net Write Out Loud]


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  • Spoken word — (en castellano, literalmente, palabra hablada) es un término utilizado como una denominación musical o de entretenimiento para referirse a las obras o interpretaciones que consisten sólo o fundamentalmente en la labor de una persona hablando como …   Wikipedia Español

  • Spoken Word — (dt.: gesprochenes Wort) bezeichnet ein Genre der Darstellenden Kunst, bei dem ein lyrischer Text oder eine Erzählung vor Publikum vorgetragen wird. Während eine Spoken Word Performance auch musikalisch begleitet werden kann, ist das gesprochene… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Spoken word — (engl.: gesprochenes Wort) bezeichnet ein Genre der Darstellenden Kunst, bei dem ein lyrischer Text oder eine Erzählung vor Publikum vorgetragen wird. Während eine Spoken Word Performance auch musikalisch begleitet werden kann, ist das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Spoken Word — Le spoken word est une forme de poésie orale. Le slam est une compétition de poésie orale ou « spoken word ». Le spoken word peut être réalisé avec un accompagnement musical, mais l accent reste sur le parleur. Artistes importants… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • spoken word — index language, parlance, speech Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • Spoken word — В этой статье не хватает ссылок на источники информации. Информация должна быть проверяема, иначе она может быть поставлена под сомнение и удалена. Вы можете отредактировать эту статью, добавив ссылки на авторитетные источники. Эта отметка… …   Википедия

  • spoken-word — spo·ken word (spōʹkən wûrdʹ) adj. 1. Spoken aloud, especially in performance: spoken word poetry. 2. Performing or involving a performance of the spoken word: “Whenever [a newspaper] covers the poetry world, you can bet you will find spoken word… …   Universalium

  • spoken word — noun a word that is spoken aloud (Freq. 1) • Syn: ↑vocable • Hypernyms: ↑word * * * the ˌspoken ˈword [spoken word] …   Useful english dictionary

  • Spoken word — Le spoken word est une forme de poésie orale. Le spoken word peut être réalisé avec un accompagnement musical, mais l accent reste sur le parleur. Artistes importants Jamika Ajalon Gérard Ansaloni Jello Biafra Chi Cheng Steve Dalachinsky Sage… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • spoken word — N SING: usu the N The spoken word is used to refer to language expressed in speech, for example in contrast to written texts or music. There is a potential educational benefit in allowing pictures to tell the story, rather than the spoken word …   English dictionary

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