Spoken word has existed for many years; long before writing, through a cycle of practicing, listening and memorizing, each language drew on its resources of sound structure for aural patterns that made spoken poetry very different from ordinary discourse and easier to commit to memory. "There were poets long before there were printing presses, poetry is primarily oral utterance, to be said aloud, to be heard." Poetry, like
music, appeals to the ear, an effect known as
euphony or
onomatopoeia, a device to represent a thing or action by a word that imitates sound. "Speak again, Speak like rain" was how a poet of the
Kikuyu people, an East African people, described her verse to author
Isak Dinesen, confirming a comment by
T. S. Eliot that "poetry remains one person talking to another". The oral tradition is one that is conveyed primarily by speech as opposed to writing. In predominantly oral cultures
proverbs (also known as
maxims) are convenient vehicles for conveying simple beliefs and cultural attitudes. "The hearing knowledge we bring to the line of poetry is a knowledge of a pattern of speech we have known since we were infants".
Performance poetry, which is kindred to performance art, is explicitly written to be performed aloud and consciously shuns the written form. "Form", as
Donald Hall records "was never more than an extension of content." Performance poetry in Africa dates to prehistorical times with the creation of hunting poetry, while elegiac and panegyric court poetry were developed extensively throughout the history of the empires of the Nile, Niger and Volta river valleys. One of the best known
griot epic poems was created for the founder of the
Mali Empire, the
Epic of Sundiata. In African culture, performance poetry is a part of theatrics, which was present in all aspects of pre-colonial African life and whose theatrical ceremonies had many different functions: political, educative, spiritual and entertainment. Poetics were an element of theatrical performances of local oral artists, linguists and historians, accompanied by local instruments of the people such as the
kora, the
xalam, the
mbira and the
djembe drum. Drumming for accompaniment is not to be confused with performances of the "talking drum", which is a literature of its own, since it is a distinct method of communication that depends on conveying meaning through non-musical grammatical, tonal and rhythmic rules imitating speech. Although, they could be included in performances of the griots. The poet and ethnographer
Jerzy Ficowski has studied and written extensively about the
Polska Roma tradition of spoken word. Though the vast majority of Polish-Romani people of that generation did not read or write, oral folk traditions were very strong. The most famous example is
Papusza, who Ficowski discovered when he was following gypsy caravans on the road. Ficowski had her work translated and published, and she went on to become one of Poland's most iconic poets. In
ancient Greece, the spoken word was the most trusted repository for the best of their thought, and inducements would be offered to men (such as the
rhapsodes) who set themselves the task of developing minds capable of retaining and voices capable of communicating the treasures of their culture. To sustain these massive oral narratives, performers utilized
dactylic hexameter a structural framework for memory and live composition. This meter allowed the rhapsode to organize complex information into a predictable musical cadence, making the recitation of thousands of lines possible without written scripts. The ancient Greeks included
Greek lyric, which is similar to spoken-word poetry, in their
Olympic Games.
Development in the United States In 1849, the
Home Journal wrote about concerts that combined spoken word recitations with music, as demonstrated by actresses
Sophie Schroder and
Fanny Kemble.
Vachel Lindsay helped maintain the tradition of poetry as spoken art in the early twentieth century. Composers such as
Marion Bauer,
Ruth Crawford Seegar, and
Lalla Ryckoff composed music to be combined with spoken words. Poet laureate
Robert Pinsky said: "Poetry's proper culmination is to be read aloud by someone's voice, whoever reads a poem aloud becomes the proper medium for the poem." "Every speaker intuitively courses through manipulation of sounds, it is almost as though 'we sing to one another all day'."
blues, and the
Beat Generation of the 1960s. Spoken word in African-American culture drew on a rich literary and musical heritage.
Langston Hughes and writers of the Harlem Renaissance were inspired by the feelings of the blues and
spirituals,
hip-hop, and
slam poetry artists were inspired by poets such as Hughes in their word stylings.
The Last Poets was a poetry and political music group formed during the 1960s that was born out of the
Civil Rights Movement and helped increase the popularity of spoken word within African-American culture. Spoken word poetry entered into wider American culture following the release of
Gil Scott-Heron's spoken-word poem "
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" on the album
Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in 1970. The
Nuyorican Poets Café on New York's Lower Eastside was founded in 1973, and is one of the oldest American venues for presenting spoken-word poetry. In the 1980s, spoken-word poetry competitions, often with elimination rounds, emerged and were labelled "
poetry slams". American poet
Marc Smith is credited with starting the poetry slam in November 1984. The poetry slam movement reached a wider audience following
Russell Simmons'
Def Poetry, which was aired on
HBO between 2002 and 2007. The poets associated with the
Buffalo Readings were active early in the 21st century. Spoken word poets have served as
poets laureate in US states and cities, for example,
Yolanda Wisher named
Poet Laureate of Philadelphia in 2016 and
Jewel Rodgers named
Nebraska State Poet in 2025.
International development France Outside of the United States, artists such as French singer-songwriters
Léo Ferré and
Serge Gainsbourg made personal use of spoken word over rock or symphonic music from the beginning of the 1970s in such albums as
Amour Anarchie (1970),
Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971), and ''
Il n'y a plus rien'' (1973), and contributed to the popularization of spoken word within French culture. In 2003, the movement reached its peak in France with Fabien Marsaud aka
Grand Corps Malade being a forerunner of the genre.
UK In the UK, musicians who have performed spoken-word lyrics include
Blur,
The Streets,
Isaac Wood, and
Kae Tempest.
Zimbabwe In
Zimbabwe, spoken word has been mostly active on stage through the House of Hunger Poetry slam in
Harare, Mlomo Wakho Poetry Slam in
Bulawayo as well as the Charles Austin Theatre in
Masvingo. Festivals such as
Harare International Festival of the Arts,
Intwa Arts Festival KoBulawayo and
Shoko Festival have supported the genre for a number of years.
Trinidad and Tobago In
Trinidad and Tobago, this art form is widely used as a form of social commentary and is displayed all throughout the nation at all times of the year. The main poetry events in Trinidad and Tobago are overseen by an organization called the 2 Cent Movement. They host an annual event in partnership with the
NGC Bocas Lit Fest and
First Citizens Bank called "The First Citizens national Poetry Slam", formerly called "Verses". This organization also hosts poetry slams and workshops for primary and secondary schools. It is also involved in social work and issues.
Ghana In
Ghana, the poetry group Ehalakasa, led by Kojo Yibor Kojo AKA Sir Black, holds monthly TalkParty events (collaborative endeavour with
Nubuke Foundation and/
National Theatre of Ghana) and special events such as Ehalakasa Slam Festival and end-of-year events. This group has produced spoken-word poets including Mutombo da Poet, Chief Moomen, Nana Asaase,
RhymeSonny,
Koo Kumi, Hondred Percent, Jewel King, Faiba Bernard, Akambo, Wordrite, Natty Ogli, and Philipa. The spoken-word movement in Ghana is rapidly growing, so that individual spoken-word artists such as Megborna, are continuously carving a niche for themselves and stretching the borders of spoken word by combining spoken word with 3D animations and spoken-word video game, based on his yet to be released poem, Alkebulan. In
Kumasi, the creative group CHASKELE holds an annual spoken-word event on the campus of
KNUST giving platform to poets and other creatives. Poets including Elidior The Poet, Slimo, T-Maine are key members of this group.
Kenya In
Kenya, poetry performance grew significantly between the late 1990s and early 2000s. This was through organisers and creative hubs such as Kwani Open Mic, Slam Africa, Waamathai's, Poetry at Discovery, Hisia Zangu Poetry, Poetry Slam Africa, Paza Sauti, Anika, Fatuma's Voice, ESPA, Sauti dada, Wenyewe poetry among others. Soon the movement moved to other counties and to universities throughout the country. Spoken word in Kenya has been a means of communication where poets can speak about issues affecting young people in Africa. Some of the well known poets in Kenya include Dorphan, Kenner B, Namatsi Lukoye, Raya Wambui, Wanjiku Mwaura, Teardrops, Mufasa, Mumbi Macharia, Qui Qarre, Sitawa Namwalie, Sitawa Wafula, Anne Moraa, Ngwatilo Mawiyo, Stephen Derwent. ==Competitions==