Spoken-word artists who helped define the genre, part 2
“Spoken word or spoken word poetry is a poetic form that is meant for performance and incorporates the wordplay, alliteration, and intonation of ancient oral traditions,” explains PoemAnalysis. The website goes on to designate spoken word as “one of the most important modern art forms.”
TED Talks on Spoken Word Poetry
It’s no surprise that Ted Talks — a series of videos created to present interesting ideas in 18 minutes or less — is a great place to learn about spoken word. After all, this platform covered every topics from “Do schools kill creativity?” to “The Power of Vulnerability.” The complete list of viewable Ted Talks is 162 pages long and dates to June of 2006 — though Ted began in 1985 as a conference on Technology, Entertainment, and Design (hence the name).
An introduction to Slam Poetry
Slam poetry rose in prominence throughout the 1990s fueled in large part by its popularity among young and diverse poets. From its inception in Chicago, the competition style spread across the country, finding a home at the Nuyorican Poets Café (pictured) in New York City.
Meet poet Michaela Kabat
Spoken-word artist Michaela Kabat is the first poet to be featured on the No Simple Disruption podcast. She grew up in Asheville, N.C. where she started writing at age 8. “I was allowed to do it in class,” she explains. “Poetry, for a long time, has been a way for me to put into words things that are very abstract.”
How to record your poem using BPM
When recording, it is helpful for your poem to follow a timing guide. This guide track can be listened to in headphones in order for you to hear the speed. The goal here is to record your voice, not the guide track. That way, your voice will best be accessed for a collaborative creative project.