Spoken Word Poetry Assignment
"What is the difference between spoken word and poetry?" Spoken word is poetry written first and
foremost to be heard. At any given slam, much of the work presented could be called spoken word.
Poetryslam.com
Write a 12 or more line Spoken Word poem – due Thursday/Friday, January 29 and 30
Possibilities:
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10 things I know to be true
10 things I should have learned by now
My Revolution is… (see below)
Emotion Poem (see below)
Other
Keep in mind when writing a spoken word poem:
Use of Concrete Language – Use words and phrases that project on the minds of the listeners vivid
images, sounds, actions and other sensations. If your poem is rich with imagery, your listeners will see,
smell and taste what you’re telling them.
Repetition – Repetition is a simple but powerful poetic device. Sometimes just the repetition of a key
phrase or image, with extensions of image and thought for each repetition, can help a writer generate
exciting poems.
Rhyme – Rhyming can enrich your poems and performance if used with skill, surprise and moderation.
Attitude – “No attitude, no poem!” Feelings and opinions are the “stuff” poetry is made of – Each poet
has a unique perspective and view of the world that no one else has. It is important that a spoken word
poem embodies the courage necessary to share one’s self with the rest of the world.
Persona – Spoken word poetry allows you to be anyone you want to be. You can write a poem in the
“voice” of someone or something other than yourself or with a personality trait that is different from
your own.
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 My Revolution
My revolution is_________________________________________________________
My revolution will_______________________________________________________
My revolution will_______________________________________________________
My revolution will_______________________________________________________
Because my revolution____________________________________________________
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There will be____________________________________________________________
There is no time for_______________________________________________________
Or_____________________________________________________________________
So_____________________________________________________________________
Because ________________________________________________________________
My revolution ___________________________________________________________
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There will be no pictures of _________________________________________________
There won’t be any________________________________________________________
But there will be__________________________________________________________
And I know______________________________________________________________
Because_________________________________________________________________
And my revolution________________________________________________________
Emotion Poem Examples
Fear - By Raymond Carver
Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive.
Fear of falling asleep at night.
Fear of not falling asleep.
Fear of the past rising up.
Fear of the present taking flight.
Fear of the telephone that rings in the dead of
night.
Fear of electrical storms.
Fear of the cleaning woman who has a spot on
her cheek!
Fear of dogs I've been told won't bite.
Fear of anxiety!
Fear of having to identify the body of a dead
friend.
Fear of running out of money.
Fear of having too much, though people will not
believe this.
“To Make You Happy”
By Alexa
I’ll make you happy like the elderly woman
placing flowers in a vase that has been empty
since her children left home.
I’ll make you happy like the exhausted warrior
seeing the white flag of an enemy waving.
I’ll make you happy like the insomniac drifting
into a deep sleep.
I’ll make you happy like that “after” woman in
the weight loss ad.
I’ll make you happy like the newlyweds buying
light bulbs together for the first time.
I’ll make you happy like the fragile child
choosing the right star to wish on.
I’ll make you happy the the one they all under
estimated who is now signing autographs.
Fear of psychological profiles.
Fear of being late and fear of arriving before
anyone else.
Fear of my children's handwriting on envelopes.
Fear they'll die before I do, and I'll feel guilty.
Fear of having to live with my mother in her old
age, and mine.
Fear of confusion.
Fear this day will end on an unhappy note.
Fear of waking up to find you gone.
Fear of not loving and fear of not loving enough.
Fear that what I love will prove lethal to those I
love.
Fear of death.
Fear of living too long.
Fear of death.
I've said that.
I’ll make you happy like the girl who’s getting
nothing she asked for but everything she
wanted.
I’ll make you happy like the blind boy knowing
of the moon’s true beauty.
I’ll make you happy like the friend waiting for
you with an umbrella in the downpour.
I’ll make you happy like the graffiti artist with a
red can of paint and a naked wall.
I’ll make you happy like a poet with a blank
page of potential.
I’ll make you happy like…
Wait.
Did you ever try to make me happy?
No. Oh.
I’ll forgive you…
If it would make you happy.
Spoken Word Jargon in Plain English
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Spoken Word (n.): A form of performance poetry that emerged in the last 1960’s
from the Black Arts movement. It owes its heritage most directly to the Beat Poetry of the
1950’s and 1960’s and the Jazz Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance (1920-1940). It calls
directly upon the African American Oral Tradition for much of its aesthetic and spiritual
power (Lorenzo 308).
Slam Poetry (n.): Spoken word poetry that fits into the aesthetic requirement of poetry
slams, most notably, the three-minute time limit (Glazner 13). In this paper, the term
“slam poetry” is used interchangeably with the word “slam.”
Poetry Slam (n.): A competition of spoken word artists in which poets are judged by laypeople in the audience. Audience judges hold up cards scoring the poets from 0.0 to 10.0.
Poets must perform their own work and must finish under a three minute time limit. Slam
poets compete for cash (Glazner 13-14).
Slam (n.): A shorthand way of saying “slam poetry” or of referring to the structure,
rules, and culture of poetry slams.
Slammaster (n.): The Master of Ceremonies at a poetry slam (Glazner 20).
On deck (adj.): A term from slam poetry that describes the poet who will perform after
the next poet due on stage. For example, after each slam poet performs, the slammaster
announces two names, the poet who is immediately next on stage, and the poet who will
follow that poet in performance order. This allows the “on deck” poet time to compose him
or herself and prepare for their turn on stage. The phrase is appropriated from Karaoke.
To Kick (v.): Appropriated from the rap music phrase “to kick a rhyme,” meaning to rap.
When used in this paper, “to kick” means to perform a spoken word poem.
Slam Poet (n.): Someone who writes and performs slam poetry. Like so many of the
artists in the spoken word scene, slam poets often consider themselves to be both spoken
word artists and social activists.
Collective (n.): A group of spoken word artists.
Piece (n.): A term borrowed from graffiti art and originally short for “masterpiece,” a
piece is a written or performed poem. The terms “piece” and “poem” are used
interchangeably in this paper (“Words”).
Group Piece (n.): The collaborative performance of a spoken word poem (Glazner 214).
The term “group piece” is used interchangeably the term “collaborative piece.”
The Audience (n.): Those who come to see spoken word performances. Because spoken
word poets perform their poetry in their own local communities, this term is sometimes
used interchangeably with “community” in this paper.
Spoken Word (n.) vs. Freestyle Rap (n.): Rap is one of the four elements of hip hop
culture (the others are DJ’ing, breakdancing, and graffiti art) in which a person performs
poetry to music in such a way that the beat of the music forms the rhythmic pattern that
his or her words fit into or onto (Rose 22)). In freestyle rap, these words are created
extemporaneously and fit into the rhythm of the music. In spoken word performance,
even if music is involved, the words themselves constitute the rhythmic pattern.
Consequently, spoken word artists are less concerned with fitting their words into or onto
the rhythmic pattern of the music1.
Spoken Word Artist (n.): A term which encompasses various types of oral performers:
rappers, slammers, spoken word poets, and even some performance artists claim this
title. Stanford Spoken Word Collective poets often use this term interchangeably with
“spoken word poet,” “spoken word performer,” and “poet.”
To Stage (v.): As in drama, this term refers to the transitioning of a text into
performance through the addition of movement, timing, and positioning of the
performers.
To Cut (v.): To divide a single text into multiple voices. This is often done on computer
word processors by bolding or color-coding poets’ lines.