This article is about the performance art. For recordings of books or dialog, see
Audiobook.
Spoken word is a form of literary art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Lyrics (in singular form Lyric) are a set of words that accompany music either by speaking or singing Spoken-word is often done with a musical background, but emphasis is kept on the speaker. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time.
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. Performance poetry is Poetry that is specifically composed for or during performance before an audience 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. A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work (or more rarely that of others Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant
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
-
Comedians and other artists
Actors and actresses
See also
References
External links
The following is a (very partial list of performance poets. See Performance poetry for more information Kevin Michael "GG" Allin ( 29 August 1956 &ndash 29 June 1993) was a Punk rock Singer-songwriter and Musician William Seward Burroughs II ( – ˈbʌroʊz was an American Novelist, Essayist, Social critic, painter and Spoken word About Brother Dash Born Dasham K Brookins Brother Dash is a spoken word poet from the United States Laurie Anderson (born Laura Phillips Anderson, on June 5 1947 in Glen Ellyn Illinois) is an American experimental Performance artist and John M Bennett (b 1942 Chicago) is an American experimental text sound and visual poet. Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958) more widely known by the Stage name Jello Biafra, is a musician who first gained Max Blagg was born in Retford England on June 24th - St John the Baptist's day (though the significance of this has not yet become important A native of Trinidad and Tobago, Roger Bonair-Agard is a Poet who lives in Brooklyn. Derrick C Brown, a Poet / Performer and former Paratrooper, travels the world performing his written work John Cooper Clarke (born January 25, 1949) is an English Performance poet from Salford, Greater Manchester; he is often Ernest Cline (born in 1972 in Ashland Ohio) is a comedian Spoken word artist and screenwriter Billy Childish (real name Steven John Hamper) or William Charlie Hamper (born December 1, 1959) is an English artist author Poet Steven Gerard Connell (born March 11, 1975 in Thousand Oaks California) is an American Actor, Playwright, poet Ani DiFranco (ˈɑːniː (born Angela Maria DiFranco on September 23 1970 is a Grammy Award winning Singer, Guitarist, and Songwriter Big Poppa E is a performer of Slam poetry. His live performances combine poetry stand-up comedy and dramatic monologue in high-energy rants about relationships pop culture HKB FiNN aka Andrew Ward is a spoken word artist from the UK who embodies worldly influences that are present in a cosmopolitan city such as London This is a list of characters for the Comedy-drama Television series Gilmore Girls. Irwin Allen Ginsberg (ˈgɪnzbɝg (June 3 1926 &ndash April 5 1997 was an American Poet. John Giorno (born 1936 is an North American poet and performance artist Jesse Glass is an American expatriate poet artist and folklorist Hedwig Gorski (born New Jersey, 1949 is an American performance poet and an avant-garde artist John S Hall (born John Charles Hall September 2, 1960) is an American Poet, Author, singer, and Lawyer Bradley Hathaway (born February 13 1982) is a spoken word poet and a folk singer and songwriter from Fort Smith Arkansas Biography Bradley Colin Hay (born Colin James Hay, 29 June 1953, Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland) is a Scottish Musician Lungfish is a Post-punk band formed in 1987 in Baltimore Maryland. Gil Scott-Heron (born April 1 1949) is an American Poet, Musician, and Author known primarily for his late 1960s and Lauryn Noel Hill is a Grammy Award -winning American Singer, Rapper, Musician, Songwriter, producer, and Bob Holman is a Poet and Poetry activist in the United States Jandek is the musical project of an Outsider musician who operates out of Houston Texas. Jerome “J-Square” Jones ( 1968 - is a New York based African-American Poet, writer, Playwright, speaker and publisher Joolz Denby (Born Julianne Mumford 9 April 1955) (previously more widely known simply as Joolz) is a Poet and Novelist Anthony Joseph is a poet novelist musician and lecturer Joseph was born in Trinidad and has lived in the UK since 1989 Miranda July (born February 15, 1974) is a Performance artist, musician writer actress and film director Alan Kaufman is an American Novelist, Memoirist and Poet who was instrumental in the development of the Spoken Word movement in Literature Jack Kerouac ( March 12 1922 &ndash October 21 1969) was an American Novelist, Writer, Poet, and Richard (Cory Kostelanetz ( 14 May, 1940, New York City) is a prolific American Artist, Author and Critic. Shane L Koyczan (born 22 May 1976) is a Canadian Poet. Born in Talib Kweli Greene (born October 3, 1975) better known as Talib Kweli, is an American MC from Brooklyn, New The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's Black nationalist thread David Lerner (born in New York City on November 23 1951; died in San Francisco California on July 1(?1997) is an American renegade Tim "Speed" Levitch (born 1970 is an American actor tour guide speaker author and Voice actor. Eve Libertine (real name Bronwyn Lloyd Jones) is a British singer Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Koch on June 2, 1959 in Rochester New York) is an American Singer, Poet, Taylor Mali (born 28 March, 1965) is an American Slam poet, teacher and Voiceover artist Sam Marshall (né Nicholls) was a Fictional character in the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Ryan Clark. Kevin Matthews is a Midwest-based radio personality best known for his 12-year association with the Loop and its onetime sister-station AM1000. Michael Matthew McGee, more commonly known as Mighty Mike McGee, (born January 12, 1976) is an American Slam poet. Gerard McKeown (born 1980 is a writer from Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Rove McManus (born John McManus II Susan McMaster (born 1950 is a Canadian Poet, literary editor, and Spoken word performer who lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Anis Mojgani (born June 13 1977) is a Spoken word poet Visual artist and musician based in Portland, Oregon. Lenelle Moise is a poet actress and playwright born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1980 James Douglas Morrison (December 8 1943—July 3 1971 was an American Poet, Singer, Songwriter, Writer, and Film director Colin Morton (born 1948 is a Canadian Poet who lives in Ottawa, Ontario. For the German anarchist see Johann Most. John Most (born April 11, 1977) is an American Poet. Ken Nordine (born April 13, 1920) is an American Voiceover and recording artist best known for his series of Word Jazz Evalyn Parry is a Canadian Quaker Singer/songwriter and actress/playwright who grew up in Toronto Ontario in the Parkdale Neighborhood Henry Rollins (born February 13 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer-songwriter Spoken word Artist, Stand-up comedian, author Ursula Rucker is an American Spoken word recording artist Rucker is known for a diverse repertoire and for utilizing techniques that catch her listeners' Michael Salinger (born March 2 1962 is a Poet, performer and educator living in Northeast Ohio. Jill Scott (born April 4 1972) is an American soul and R&B Singer-songwriter, Poet, and actress Steve Scott (born 1951 in London) is a poet spoken word artist and musician Beau Sia ( Born 1976 Philippines) is a Chinese Filipino - American slam poet Shihan Van Clief (born Ron van Clief Jr on August 4, 1975) is an African-American Spoken word artist and poet known for his appearances on Mark Edward Smith (born 5 March 1957) is the Lead singer, Lyricist, Frontman, and sole constant member of English Patricia Lee Smith ( born December 30 1946 is an American Singer-songwriter and poet Nicky Spesh hails from North London, England. An emerging member of the British hip hop and Grime scene alongside the likes of Sway DaSafo Rod Summers ( 1943 - born in Dorset, Serj Tankian ( Armenian: Սերժ Թանգեան (born August 21, 1967 in Beirut, Lebanon and started his own software company Tony Tremblay is a french-canadian poet writer Spoken word artist journalist and radio personality born in Jonquière (Québec in 1968 and now living in Montreal Cassandra Tribe is an American Spoken word artist Life and work Tribe was born October 5, 1968, in Poughkeepsie New Buddy Wakefield (born June 4 1974 is a Spoken word poet signed to Sage Francis ' record label Strange Famous Records. Thomas Alan Waits (born 7 December 1949) is an American Singer-songwriter, Composer, and Actor. Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) is an American poet writer actor and musician known for his blend of Poetry and Alternative hip-hop Sheri-D Wilson is a Canadian Poet and Playwright. Emanuel Xavier Granja (born May 3 1971 known as Emanuel Xavier, is an American poet spoken word artist Author, editor events producer and actor born Rozz Williams ( November 6, 1963 – April 1, 1998) born Roger Alan Painter was an American Deathrock vocalist most Thomas Winter can refer to Thomas Daniel Winter (1896–1951 U Jason Gomillion Wright (born July 12, 1982 in Diamond Bar California) is an American football halfback who currently plays for the Molly "Mali" Woods (born in Minnetonka Minnesota) is a modern indie folk and soul singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. Victor Borge (pronounced "BOR-guh" January 3 1909 &ndash December 23 2000) was a Danish-American humorist entertainer and pianist Lenny Bruce (October 13 1925 &ndash August 3 1966 born Leonard Alfred Schneider, was an American Stand-up comedian, Writer, social Rive (plural: rives is a French word meaning "bank" (of a river Henry Rollins (born February 13 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield) is an American singer-songwriter Spoken word Artist, Stand-up comedian, author Christopher Julius Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is an American Comedian, Actor, Screenwriter, Television Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Dame Judith Anderson, AC DBE (10 February 1897 &ndash 3 January 1992 was an Australian Tony award - and Emmy -winning Actress Edward James Begley ( March 25, 1901 &ndash April 28, 1970) was an American award winning Actor. Claire Bloom (born Patricia Claire Blume; 15 February 1931) is an English Film and stage Actress. Richard Burton, CBE (10 November 1925 &ndash 5 August 1984 was a Welsh multiple award-winning Actor. José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón ( January 8, 1909 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican theater and Albert Finney Jr (born 9 May 1936 is a five-time Academy Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning English Actor. Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH ( 14 April, 1904 – 21 May 2000) known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke KBE (19 February 1893 - 6 August 1964 was a notable English actor Dennis Lee Hopper (born May 17, 1936) is an Academy Award -nominated American Actor and Film -maker James Neville Mason ( 15 May 1909 – 27 July 1984) was a three-time Academy Award -nominated British Actor who Siobhán McKenna ( May 24, 1923 - November 16, 1986) was an Irish stage and screen actress Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron Tyrone Edmund Power Jr (May 5 1914 – November 15 1958 usually credited simply as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as " Ty Power " was an Vincent Leonard Price Jr ( May 27 1911 &ndash October 25 1993) was an American Film Actor, remembered Sir John Anthony Quayle, CBE ( 7 September 1913 &ndash 20 October 1989) was an English Actor and director Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE ( 20 March, 1908 — 21 March, 1985) was an English actor author director and Sir Ralph David Richardson ( 19 December 1902 &ndash 10 October 1983) was an English Actor, one of a group of theatrical Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE (born December 28 1934) better known as Maggie Smith, is a British Film, stage William Alan Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian double Emmy - Golden Globe - and Saturn Award -winning Miranda July (born February 15, 1974) is a Performance artist, musician writer actress and film director Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured deliberate manner intended to inform influence or entertain the listeners
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
network: | |
