Spoken word is a style of performance poetry that began in New York City and became popular in the early nineties. It evolved from the oral tradition of free-style hip hop artists and poets who would perform at local open mics. Unlike previous styles of poetry, spoken word is usually written with the intention of being performed. It emphasizes the tone of the human voice, which adds another layer of meaning for interpretation. While spoken word poems may vary in style, most have a narrative, include some form of social commentary and range from being two to three minutes long.
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-style duels.[citation needed] This type of competitive slam poetry event has been popular in India for centuries.[citation needed] In the United States, the competition of slam poetry probably arose from rap music 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 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 is now commonly considered under the general genre of spoken word as shown in a recent article by Clare Morgan in the Sydney Morning Herald.[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 like music, theatre, and dance.[2]
By definition spoken word is a category of performance art to encompass an new seriously developed genre or traditional form that is primarily word-based and is not exclusively music, theatre, or dance but may include collaborations with other non word-based art genres or works created in collaboration with artists from non word-based disciplines.[4]
