Hello to all… again.

Hello there and welcome to my blog. If you’ve been here previously, you’ll note that I’ve gotten rid of all my previous posts. It is my intent now to center this blog around one of my great passions… Spoken Word. What is Spoken Word? It is the art of performing poetry. I suppose one can say that it is also the craft of writing poetry to be heard, with the poetry being publicly rendered by the poet.

By “heard”, I mean more than just the reading of a poetic piece. Perhaps the best way to sum it up is that Spoken Word is the dramatic communication and interpretation of a poetic piece. This communication and interpretation certainly involves using the key instrument, the voice, in a way that amplifies the emotional and mental dimensions of the piece. Yet, it also involves (at least in my opinion) the usage of a poet’s whole physical being to help communicate the ideas of the piece. In short, Spoken Word is about getting the audience to “feel” what you are saying. Of course, as I say all of this, this is just my perspective on Spoken Word. Others will differ as to what Spoken Word is (and that’s okay). The main thing to know is that Spoken Word (as hard as it may be to define) is a viable form of art, gaining greater prominence in the performing arts world.

I certainly portend not to be a Pulitzer poet; however, I’ve been writing, in one form or another, for over 20 years. Moreover, I’ve been speaking publicly, in one forum or another, for about the same amount of time as well. Thus, I have some background and experience that I can bring to the discussion of Spoken Word. Admittedly, the art form is new to me as I currently see it portrayed. Even so, it’s not beyond my grasp. I’ve been writing poetry for over 20 years; I didn’t really know about venues for its hearing until recently. But think this is an academic matter for me. I am a Spoken Word performer and I’ve been performing (and learning) quite a bit since my “debut” in May 2006.

I think Spoken Word is more than Rap, although I suppose you could see the two as interchangeable. Even so, Rap music is typically confined to a hard rhyme scheme, whereas Spoken Word is a bit more spontaneous in rhyming, if it rhymes at all. Rap, as a musical form, is certainly naked without its music, while Spoken Word doesn’t need music (although there are those who spit their lines to a musical backing from time to time). With Rap, an emphasis is placed on the overall sound; the total music value is king. However, with Spoken Word, the message and the passion with which it is communicated tend to be its main values. With all that said, it helps to be a good writer whether you’re a rapper or a Spoken Word performer. Yet, even this is tricky because “good” is subjective… however, Spoken Word performers will know, more or less immediately how good their writing is, based upon if the audience “got” what they were saying. And again, the comparison to Rap is just one comparison. I sometimes feel like trying to define what Spoken Word is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.
In summary, this blog will be mainly about Spoken Word. To that end, I want to share with you some thoughts and ideas about the art form. As I do this, I will share some pieces I’ve written… hopefully, I’ll have the audio as well so you can hear the performing of the pieces, too… perhaps, based on your requests, I may write some new pieces (you can be my secret source of inspiration!) I definitely want your thoughts and input about the art form, favorite poets, methods of writing, etc. I look forward to conversing with you. We’ll learn a lot from one another.

(c) 2006 by Dennis J. Colwell.