Performance poetry

Performance poetry is an art form specifically composed for or during a live performance before an audience.

While traditional poetry often focuses on the written word, performance poetry emphasizes the vocal and physical delivery of the text. This medium covers a wide variety of styles, genres, and presentation methods. It is a way for poets to use their voices, bodies, and sometimes music to communicate ideas. The poet maintains control over the literary performance, but they also invite the participation of the audience. This creates a shared social experience where oral literature becomes the primary way to communicate.

The mechanism of performance poetry involves several different ways of creating and delivering art. Some poets write poems specifically to be spoken aloud, focusing on how sounds interact with the ear. Others practice improvisation, which is the act of composing poems spontaneously in front of a crowd. In these cases, the poet might use the audience's energy to shape the work as it happens. Some performers also use the "cut-up method," a technique that involves rearranging text to create new meanings. Other artists mix impromptu speech with body language and theatricality to make their work more visual. This combination of elements ensures that the performance is an integral part of the poem itself.

There are distinct types of poetic performance that have emerged over time. The first type is the standard poetry reading, where an author reads poems written for the page. Most people do not consider these simple readings to be part of the performance poetry phenomenon. The second type includes poems written specifically for a live setting, much like the "neo-verse drama" styles of the past. The third type involves poets who compose their work entirely during the performance. Additionally, some artists combine poetry with music, such as the collaborations seen in the 1980s. This diversity allows the art form to reach different audiences, from small cafe crowds to mass media listeners.

The history of performance poetry stretches back to pre-literate, oral cultures. In these societies, poems were transmitted orally from one performer to another. These performers used devices like alliteration, rhyme, and repetition to help them memorize long stories. They used a mental template to recall the poem but added their own unique flavor during each recitation. The invention of cheap printing technology changed the poet's role in society significantly. Poets shifted from being public entertainers to providers of written texts for private reading. For a long time, spoken poetry was mostly restricted to staging plays in verse or singing.

The 20th century brought a renewed focus on the sound of poetry. In 1916, Hugo Ball performed one of the first sound poems at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zürich.

He wore a cardboard costume and had to be carried onto the stage for his performance. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, poets like Cid Corman and Allen Ginsberg experimented with recording oral poetry on tape. During the 1980s, the term "performance poetry" was popularized by Hedwig Gorski. She used the name to distinguish her vocal performances from the work of visual performance artists. This era saw a peak in music and poetry collaborations, especially in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Austin, Texas.

This movement has significant historical and institutional importance. In Austin, the Austin Poets Audio Anthology Project recorded many unique artists for radio broadcasts. This included performers like Harryette Mullen, who was nominated for a National Book Award. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) also had a complex relationship with the art form. Originally, the NEA categorized performance poetry under theater rather than literature. This classification meant many poets were ineligible for literature fellowships because they lacked printed publications. The NEA eventually corrected this in the 21st century. They now accept audio recordings as valid proof of publication for fellowship applicants.

Performance poetry connects to many broader cultural and technological systems. It serves as a bridge between ancient oral traditions and modern digital media. For example, the energy of live performance venues eventually led to the modern slam poetry scene. Some influences also traveled through mass media, leading to programs like Def Poetry Jam on HBO. Today, technology like podcasts and videoconferencing is used to promote literacy in schools. Global Writes Inc. uses these tools to help students share their own poetry with the world.

Whether through a digital screen or a live stage, the art remains a way to connect people through sound.