Spoken Word Blog

In an earlier post, I explained my plans for this site. The post included a list of features I planned to add shortly.

I have begun adding those features.

Today, I made it so each artist in our directory has their own page. You will notice that now you can click on the name of every artist in our artist directory, which will bring you to a page with just their listings. For example, you can look at the page for Maximus Parthas or the page for Lamont Carey.

If you notice any errors, please tell me about them. If you have any suggestions, please post them. Remember, I want to make this website (SpokenWordArt.com) the best it can be.

I just read an informative blog post about the history of the modern spoken word movement. It also describes spoken word history. It is short and to the point. Check it out and tell me what you think.

If you have any more information about the history of spoken word, please post it here as a comment. Thanks!

I found the following cool product on Amazon today: Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Season 1-4

That’s the entire first four seasons of Def Poetry. You can get it for a lower cost than if you bought each season separately. I would order it, but I already own them all. Also, you can buy the whole set used to save even more money.

If you have watched Def Poetry when it aired on HBO like I did, then you probably want to get this disc set so that you can see the episodes you missed and re-watch the others as many times as you want.

One of the great things I have found about having the discs on hand is that I can show them to house guests every now and then. I have introduced many people to Def Poetry by having the whole thing on DVD.

Considering the holiday season, I want to mention that this 4 season set would make a really great gift for anyone who likes spoken word poetry.

If you have never seen Def Poetry, I highly recommend it. However, if you have not seen it, you probably want to only get season 1 in case you do not like it: Def Poetry - Season 1. If you find that you like season 1, then you can order the rest.

What do you think?

I want to share with you the plans I have for SpokenWordArt.com. I have thought of a lot of features that I want to add to the website. I will probably add them in as short of a timespan as possible, because it is easier to write all the scripts together, since they will have to interact with each other.

First of all, you want to make sure you have taken advantage of the current features. If you are a spoken word artist, you can post a listing in our artist directory.

Now, about the future plans…

Firstly, I plan to make it so that each artist listing will also be displayed on its own webpage, in addition to be listed in the directory. This means that each artist in our directory will have their own profile page.

I also plan to add a feature that will allow viewers to choose to only see artists with an audio or video sample of their work on the artists page. When browsing through so many listings, this will help the viewer not be overwhelmed with short text-only listings from various artists.

I also plan to add a feature that would allow people to post comments on artist profiles. The comments would have to be approved by the artist before they would be displayed publicly on the page.

I also want to add a feature so that fans can register at the website as “fans,” so that membership is not only limited to artists.

After that, I want to create a feature so that users of the website can message each other through the website. This will help ensure that messages are not lost through email.

Finally, I want to create a way for people to list spoken word events automatically. The users can type in the event details, including where and when. Then, there will be a page displaying all the events that have been listed.

What do you think? Please post any suggestions for other features that you want or for how you want these features to work.

I found a great guide on Do Something about how to organize a poetry slam. If you want to organize a poetry slam, I recommend reading it. It seems especially helpful to students. What do you think?

I just read an interesting interview with Evie Shockley. Check it out, and come back here to post a comment about the interview. Evie Shockley teaches creative writing and African American literature at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

My favorite part of the interview is when Evie Shockley explains why he does not use capital letters in his poetry.

What do you think?

I just read a very interesting article about street poets who will write poems on the spot about topics or themes that bystanders choose.

At first, it amazed me to think that they could do that. However, after thinking about it, I realize it is similar to how rappers can freestyle or battle.

What do you think? Would you be able to come up with themed poems on the spot like that?

I just read an interesting article by Donald Hall entitled Death to the Death of Poetry. In the article, he explores poetry and verse in modern society, and addresses the common perception that it is a dying art. Although he is mostly talking about written verse and poetry readings, I think the article can be uniquely interesting from the perspective of someone heavily involved with performance poetry. Near the end of the article, he says, “The poetry reading helps toward understanding… because the poet’s voice and gesture provide entrance to the poetry.” What do you think?

I just read an interesting by Carlos David Garcia that compares written verse with spoken word poetry. The article offers a description of the modern spoken word movement, including a recap of its history.

Near the end of the article the author says that the fan bases each type of poetry would not appreciate the other. While they often involve different cultures, I still think that many people respect and enjoy both forms of poetry. Additionally, I think that they have room to blend together more. For example, consider the middle-ground of basic poetry readings–a mix of the fast-paced, performance-based spoken word poetry and the slower, interpretive written poetry.

What do you think?

I just read an interesting article by Mike Ladd entitled “What Is Poetry Anyway?”

In the article, he recounts how his friend asked him to define poetry. The article offers several short quotes from famous poets attempting to define poetry. My favorite is Robert Frost’s “poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and thought has found words.”

I like the article, but after reading it I do not feel that it has defined poetry. Of course, the author makes a point of the difficulty of defining poetry, and he does express what qualities he likes to see poetry have.

What do you think? How would you define poetry?