Spoken word poetry is a different experience from written poetry. The author's voice provides a more emotional experience for the viewer. The poem is being presented in exactly the way the author intended because they control the speed, inflection of voice, and where to pause for effect. They are able to supplement their words with hand gestures and facial expressions that give the poem a kind of energy. Not that traditional written poetry isn't lovely and even more appropriate in the case of some poems, but some poetry just needs to be performed.
Sarah Kay has a lovely poem entitled "If I should have a daughter", which is beautiful and touching. And the thing is, if I read that poem, I might not have liked it. In fact, there's a very probable chance my eyes would have skimmed past it. But her delivery was engaging and spot on. Her performance made me interesting in what she had to say.
My favorite poet I have encountered so far is Rives. That's John G. Rives, and he is fantastic. The guy is funny as anything and a brilliant writer. He can weave words together in the most beautiful interesting ways, combining irony and humor and nostalgia and vision into the best three minutes of your life. Some of his performances are not that different from stand up, but some of them are more metaphorical and poetic. Some tell stories and others express a concept and most do both. Some are funny until you think about them more and realize that behind all the humor he had something a bit more profound he was trying to get across. The video below is my favorite poem of his.
I really encourage you to search for his other performances on YouTube, or if he doesn't particularly strike you, to explore the work of other slam poets. Because in the world of spoken word poetry, there is something for everyone.
A Link to Project VOICE, a movement to encourage self expression through spoken word poetry created by Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay.
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