Fiction Adaptation: What is Spoken Word Poetry?

Poetry has been around for many centuries, the earliest dated is considered to be the 20th century B.C.  Over hundreds of years, poetry has adapted and embellished into its own literary form worthy of educational study in schools, as well as developing its own connotations.  One of these connotations is "romance".  In the time of Shakespeare, his sonnets were sometimes considered to be romantic and sometimes considered to be imaginative descriptions of truth.  However, in most poems, it is the connotations and the weight that the words carry that are the most important factor. The differences in their meanings can make it almost impossible to interpret in one singular way, which cause the readers to interpret each poem differently. Even though the interpretations made by individuals are reasonable suggestions, there will never be a definitive answer as to what each poem is about.

Spoken word poetry however is very different to the traditional form spoken about above. Spoken word poetry is a form of songwriting as it is intended to be performed. With artists such as Anton Wojcik, Ross Sutherland and Adam Kammerling, spoken word poetry has become more and more popular.  With fesivals and "slam" poetry on the rise, this style of literature is being explored more in depth than ever before.

Slam poetry was first introduced in America in the 1980s when open mic events started to take place in local restaurants and cafes in New York, San Fransisco and Austin.  It is very much a musical style of poetry that is very similar to that of rap and hip hop music.  Lots of artists perform to music at festivals and other performances as it helps them to convert the story of their piece in a more engaging way. 

Take a look at some of these spoken performances.

   

As you can see, these spoken word poets tell very personal stories in a way that makes their argument inspirational and comprehensive for everyone to understand. For most, this is an art form like no other. It is not rap, it is not poetry, I personally think this is imaginative storytelling of the artist's passions. What stories THEY want the people to know. 

Reading over my adaptation, I can clearly understand that this is not a piece of fiction, it's like an autobiography told in a fictional way. These poems have a deep connection to the artist so it is incredibly important to take the adaptation seriously and try and represent visually something the poet would be proud of. This doesn't mean to say that we have to create the poems like the one above where the poet is telling you what the audience needs to hear, I wish to show them what I think the artist is trying to tell them.