Nestled in cafes, bars, and school auditoriums are poets finding ways to reach new audiences through performative techniques revived for the modern era. Performance poetry, or spoken word, is far from an entirely new art form; its roots can be traced to the oral poetry of Ancient Greece and the bards commonly found in the Middle Ages.

But with the rise of spoken word competitions, known as poetry slams, beginning in the 1990s, writers viewed poetry through a refreshed lens—performance poetry offered insight into racism, sexism, queer rights, and issues of social justice. It also gave community to marginalized people rallying behind political causes, such as the Arab Spring protests. The momentum for this movement can be seen in how educators have embraced performance poetry, giving rise to non-profit collectives such as Urban Word in New York City, which collaborated with more than 100 schools to provide an avenue for creative expression such as bringing poetry from the page to the stage.

This guide offers a range of analyses of performance poetry’s impact on cultures around the world, how its relationship to activism has given voice to those so often unheard, and why understanding its historical roots is vital to recognizing its potential for influence today.

James A. Notopoulos, “The Homeric Hymns as Oral Poetry; A Study of the Post-Homeric Oral Tradition,” The American Journal of Philology 83, no. 4 (October 1962): 337–368.

Classics scholar James A. Notopoulos outlines how orally delivered hymns written by the Greek poet Homer (c. 8th century BCE) maintained their influence long after the written word was introduced in the eighth century. He takes on a statistically studious approach to analyze the formulaic diction of a typical Homeric hymn and effectively compares it to later work by poets such as Hesiod (c. 750–650 BCE). He also describes how the “oral character of the hymns opens up for us new frontiers for increased understanding in this area of Greek literature,” and characterizes the originality of the oral storytelling technique as “one of the most spontaneous and dynamic of man’s ways with words.”

Paul Zumthor, “Spoken Language and Oral Poetry in the Middle Ages,” Style 19, no. 2 (Summer 1985): 191–198.

The Middle Ages brimmed with an influx of performance-oriented verse, but also a deluge of text-based work. Literary historian Paul Zumthor argues that poetry with a purely oral tradition in that era invoked an open discourse, while written poetry, still communicated orally, made up a closed discourse. He stresses that Medieval poetry shouldn’t be understood in a silo without considering its social function and the role of the voice in its performance. Breathwork, sound, gesture, and instrumentation played key roles in oral poetry delivered in this era. As many researchers have similarly pointed out, Zumthor argues that the vocal aspect of performance was not incidental to the meaning and impact of the texts, but was integral to it.

Mohamed Abdillahi Rirash, “Somali Oral Poetry as a Vehicle for Understanding Disequilibrium and Conflicts in a Pastoral Society,” Nomadic Peoples 30, (1992): 114–121.

Akin to how spoken word from Ethiopia, Ghana, and other African countries acts as a monument to historical record-keeping, so too does Somali oral poetry, argues linguistic scholar Mohamed Abdillahi Rirash. That kind of harkening to the past also includes introspection into perspectives on spiritual, religious, and cultural conduct.

Specifically looking at the country’s pastoral society, this research cites an impressive variety of examples from poets such as nineteenth-century bard Salaan Garrabay to reveal, for example, Somali ethical guidelines such as “[if a pastoralist] were to choose between death and submission into humiliation, he will opt for the former.” Oral poetry is shared from one generation to the next, so much so that young Somalis memorize poems and recognize poetic forms early, forming what Rirash calls “poetic mental archives.”

Susan Gingell, “‘Always a Poem, Once a Book’: Motivations and Strategies for Print Textualizing of Caribbean-Canadian Dub and Performance Poetry,” Journal of West Indian Literature 14, no.1/2. (November 2005): 220–259.

It’s somewhat rare to uncover a deep dive into dub poetry aesthetics, let alone a chronicle of the past and present-day role of Canadian dub poetry. A poetic art form marrying call-and-response and storytelling commonly found in Caribbean regions, dub has been often ignored by the literary establishment and only gains cultural value once its poems are in print, writes scholar Susan Gingell. After she establishes the oral dimensions of dub—from unusual word placements  to aural structure experimentation—she shares how non-profit organizations such as the League of Canadian Poets rejected a dub poetry collective’s application to join as a member, identifying them as performers not poets. But that characterization is outdated. Led by icons such as Toronto’s Lillian Allen, dub poets have gained respect in the past twenty years in Canada, and the League has since approved applications from dub poets across the country.

Muhammad Agami Hassan Muhammad, “Performance Poetry: A New Mode of Resistance,”Arab Studies Quarterly 39, no. 2 (Spring 2017): 815–841.

This exploration into Arabic poetry comes on the heels of the Arab Spring where young activists brought poetic verse to their protests. Muhammad, a literary scholar who has long studied the influence of American performance poetry on Arab nations, analyzes the relationship between the Anglo-American performance poetry and the literary works of two young Egyptian poets: Hisham al-Gakh and Amr Qatamis. This new form of spoken word, Muhammad explains, “necessitates a revolutionary type of poetry both in content and form that must be more energetic, down-to-earth, and touching to attract the new addressees.”

Charika Swanepoel, “To ‘sweeten Ireland’s wrong’: Contemporary Performance Poetry and Digital Activism in Ireland,” Nordic Irish Studies 19, Special issue: Justice on the Island (2021/2022): 191–208.

The link between performance poetry and activism continues to generate compelling insights, as demonstrated by this paper from Finnish doctoral researcher Charika Swanepoel. Today’s Irish performance poets are thoroughly engaged in “sweetening Ireland’s wrong,” she writes, as they bring their art to digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to address social and political issues in order to promote a more inclusive and just society. She admits a limit to her conclusions, though, noting that it’s unclear if these poems truly spark action beyond bearing witness to “Ireland’s suffering, its trauma, and its complicated heritage.”

Santiago Chávez, “Performance Poetry in Mexico City,” World Literature Today 82, no. 1 (January–February 2008): 35.

In the shortest entry in this list, we get a glimpse into the burgeoning scene of performance poetry in Mexico City in a summary of the collective La Lengua, which the author states “is engaged in hoping and searching for community and identity, expressing itself through words and music united as a single object, which we can continue to call song or, as we affectionately call it in Mexico City, rola.” Through a sample of the collective’s poetry, the spotlight is on its lyrical nature, which blends the musical elements of a chorus with the imaginative creativity of wordplay.

Maisha Fisher, “‘Every City Has Soldiers’: The Role of Intergenerational Relationships in Participatory Literacy Communities,” Research in the Teaching of English 42, no. 2 (November 2007): 139–162.

As performance poetry has become more popular, especially for marginalized communities in the US, its growth requires viable venues and mentors for those voices to be nurtured effectively. Scholar Maisha Fisher identifies participatory literacy communities for Black poets such as Black-focused author events and spoken word open mics, while also characterizing mentors as “soldiers” who play a critical role in perpetuating the mission of those sites. In a unique paper, she examines how these mentors level up intergenerational learning for young Black poets, exemplified by excerpts from the work of students, including one who shares how a certain piece was inspired by her grandmother.

Birgit M. Bauridl, “Contemporary ‘Black?’ Performance Poetry,” Amerikastudien / American Studies 55, no. 4, African American Literary Studies: New Texts, New Approaches, New Challenges (2010): 715–724.

This paper dedicated to Black performance poetry reveals the range of voices spreading spoken word coast to coast; their self-expression revolves around a swath of topics such as sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and poverty. The author also aligns this mode of performance poetry with other Black art forms such as jazz. “The two major aspects that link Black Arts and contemporary performance poetry are the emphasis on performativity and the subversive, political character,” she writes. She expertly profiles spoken word artist Staceyann Chin, who has inspired young poets from under-represented communities for decades, although the paper would have been better served by reprinting (with permission) an entire poem of Chin’s to further strengthen the argument on what makes this artist so influential.

Felicia R. Walker and Viece Kuykendall, “Manifestations of Nommo in ‘Def Poetry’,” Journal of Black Studies 36, no. 2 (November 2005): 229–247.

If there’s any TV show that influenced the trajectory of spoken word in North America, it’s Def Poetry Jam, broadcast on HBO from 2002 to 2007. Reflecting the growth of spoken word competitions such as poetry slams, this Russell Simmons-hosted talent show of American and Canadian performance poets comes under the microscope in this concise paper on nommo, a concept traced back to traditional African philosophies, and how it manifests itself through distinct characteristics of African oral storytelling. These include “rhythm, soundin’ out, repetition, stylin’, lyrical quality,” and improvisation, as the authors write. Def Poetry Jam’s poets popularized nommo, even if the audience was unaware of its presence. Many poets are cited, including hip-hop legend Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey). To offer an example of nommo in the wild, the authors write of Daniel Beatty’s appearance on the show, in which he demonstrated the effective use of repetition commonly found in this linguistic device: “No longer will I be there to knock on your door, so you must learn to knock for yourself. Knock, knock down doors of racism and poverty that I could not. Knock, knock on doors of opportunity for the lost brilliance of the Black men who crowd these cells. Knock, knock with diligence for the sake of your children…”

Wendy R. Williams, “Every Voice Matters: Spoken Word Poetry in and outside of School,” The English Journal 104, no. 4 (March 2015): 77–82.

“Spoken word poetry workshops and slams can encourage young people to share their stories and develop their voices,” concludes former high school teacher Wendy R. Williams in her passionate paper on the role of performance poetry in American classrooms. She profiles several young poets and shares how they each found the stage through workshops and poetry slam competitions—or both. She also includes a helpful list of resources for educators to harness if they want to fold spoken word poetry into lesson plans, bringing up established titles such as The Spoken Word Revolution by Mark Eleveld and Youth Poets: Empowering Literacies In and Out of School by Korina M. Jocson.

Rebecca Woodard and Rick Coppola, “More Than Words: Student Writers Realizing Possibilities through Spoken Word Poetry,” The English Journal 107, no. 3 (January 2018): 62–67.

Three years after Williams illustrated the educational role of spoken word in schools, the authors further emphasize how writing meaningful spoken word poetry can help students parse emotional trauma. Writing about self-expression and identity, to use one example, can uplift students and give them the opportunity to “think about who they are and who others (media, public, dominant discourses) say they are and create dialogue to mediate and negotiate any discrepancies.” The latter half of the paper stresses how educators can better develop lesson plans incorporating spoken word poetry and strengthen community in the classroom, such as “providing students with opportunities to give and receive appreciative feedback.”

Lisa Brawley, “The Virtual Slam: Performance Poetry on the Net,” Chicago Review 40, no. 2/3, Poetry and Mass Culture (1994): 164–174.

It wouldn’t be glib to say the surge of interest in performance poetry is directly correlated to the growth of digital platforms. In Lisa Brawley’s 1994 paper, the focus is on Usenet and similar fora, which are less about video performances than textual copies, yet the intimacy between poet and reader is still emerging as a corollary benefit for this new class of spoken word poets. “The poetics of virtual proximity,” as Brawley dubs it, give way to an exploration of the “radical artificiality” of language. Yet, as we’ve seen, the exchanges on the Net “use the radical artifice of electronic media to forge a new idiom of the everyday,” which is a prescient outlook on an art form that exploded immensely once video-friendly social networks such as Instagram became the de facto stage for virtual poetry slams and spoken word content.

Tyler Hoffman, “Treacherous Laughter: The Poetry Slam, Slam Poetry, and the Politics of Resistance,” Studies in American Humor, New Series 3, no. 8, Special Issue: Humor in Popular Culture, (2001): 49–64.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise many of papers written in the early twenty-first century reference poetry slams, as they have jumpstarted spoken word’s popularity in North America and Europe. This paper takes an intriguing turn by heavily leaning on Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin’s “second life” theory, as in spoken word crafting an alternative to (and subversive of) the official culture and its orderings as it aims to undo ethnic, racial, gender, and sexual stereotypes. Within this competitive atmosphere, performance poetry is characterized by “freedom, frankness, and familiarity” commonly found in carnivals and street festivals. Humorous poetry is given its due here, a nuance of spoken word that only surfaces in casual conversation as opposed to academic reports.

Through the excerpts of several well-known spoken word poems, Hoffman shows how the humor inherent in these poems “may rarely alter actual material conditions, but it can free people ‘to a certain extent from censorship, oppression, and the stake’ if not by eliminating those realities then by liberating people from ‘the great interior censor . . . from the fear that developed in man during thousands of years: fear of the sacred, of prohibitions, of the past, of power,’” as Bakhtin writes.

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