Tips for Writing Spoken Word Poetry

Tips  for  Writing  Spoken  Word  Poetry     1.  Context  matters.  Know  your  audience.  A  good  poet  uses  this  knowledge  to  hit  as  hard  as  he  or  she  can  in  a  particular  scenario.     2.  Substance  over  style.  Spoken-­‐word  is  more  than  pretty  art—it’s  an  opportunity  to  say  something  to  an  audience.  The  best   spoken-­‐word  is  powerful  and  ultimately  transformative  because  of  what  it  says,  not  how  it  says  it.  Pretty  words  with  no  meaningful   foundation  ring  hollow.  Spoken  word  often,  though  certainly  not  always,  utilizes  complex  and  interesting  rhymes.       3.  Challenge  the  audience.  The  best  art  doesn’t  tell  people  what  they  want  to  hear—it  pushes  them  out  of  their  comfort  zones.     4.  Being  original  and  memorable  is  more  important  than  being  “good.”  What  new  perspective  do  you  have?  How  are  you  going  to   make  your  work  stand  out?  Your  challenge  is  not  to  “write  well;”  it  is  to  slap  your  audience  in  the  face  with  something  meaningful,   powerful  and  memorable.  Spoken  Word  Poetry  commonly  relies  on  first-­‐person  narratives,  or  stories  told  about  the  poet’s  personal   experiences.  Poems  that  focus  on  general  observations  about  people  and  events  are  also  common.     5.  Be  specific.  For  example,  don’t  write  about  “love,”  tell  a  detailed  story  about  a  specific  moment  in  your  life  when  you  felt  loved.     6.  Study  the  art  of  poetry.  Don’t  just  get  up  on  stage  and  rant  and  rave.  Understand  dynamics,  structure,  metaphor,  imagery,   assonance  &  consonance,  rhythm,  concrete  vs.  abstract  language  and  all  of  the  little  things  that  go  into  making  what  is  traditionally   considered  good  poetry.  Even  if  you  want  to  break  rules,  you  should  be  able  to  do  so  intentionally.     7.  Poetry—especially  spoken-­‐word—is  about  communication.  At  the  end  of  the  day,  you’re  not  up  on  stage  to  celebrate  how   brilliant  you  are;  you’re  up  there  to  open  up  lanes  of  communication,  to  say  something  that  might  get  someone  else  to  think  or  feel   something,  to  build  community—artistically,  intellectually  and  physically.       8.  Study  other  performers.  YouTube  is  a  great  resource  for  this.  As  you  watch,  pay  attention  to  what  other  performers  are  doing:   What  kinds  of  choices  are  they  making  with  their  voices  and  gestures?  Who  are  your  favorite  performers,  and  what  about  their   performance  or  poetry  do  you  find  compelling?       9.  Try  memorizing  your  poetry.  Memorizing  your  poetry  is  a  great  way  to  stretch  and  grow  as  an  artist.  Also,  in  my  opinion,  it’s   absolutely  the  best  way  to  achieve  a  full  and  fulfilling  performance  experience.  There’s  nothing  quite  like  the  feeling  of  performing   spoken  word  without  the  encumbrance  of  having  to  hold  a  piece  of  paper  or  a  book.       10.  Rehearse.  Speaking  of  performing  again  and  again,  rehearsal  is  fundamental  to  consistent  and  successful  performances.  Find  a   rehearsal  space  where  you  can  be  uninterrupted  and  can  feel  free  to  experiment  with  your  voice  and  gestures.  Definitely,  work  on   developing  your  poems—make  choices,  commit  to  them,  learn  them,  and  do  them  consistently.  When  I  first  started  performing,  I   would  rehearse  like  mad,  and  that  rehearsal  paid  off  when  I  was  in  front  of  audiences.  The  performance  of  my  poems  was  second   nature  to  me,  and  I  could  focus  on  enjoying  the  experience,  rather  than  worrying  about  my  next  line  or  next  gesture.  But,  there’s  a   balance  between  knowing  your  poems  and  running  them  into  the  ground.  So,  rehearse,  but  don’t  be  so  compulsive  about  it  that   your  poem  no  longer  sounds  fresh.     Some  Literary  Techniques  to  consider  in  writing  Spoken  Word:   Alliteration-­‐  the  repetition  of  the  same  or  similar  sounds  at  the  beginning  of  words,  such  as  Parson  Peters  picked  a  peck  of  pickled   peppers.     Assonance-­‐  the  repetition  of  vowel  sounds  within  a  phrase,  such  as  in  crave  and  rave.     Internal  Rhyme-­‐  rhyme  within  a  line  or  verse,  as  in  boisterous  and  noisterous.     Metaphor-­‐  A  comparison  between  two  dissimilar  things  that  have  something  in  common,  for  example,  "my  home  is  a  dungeon   when  I  am  grounded".         Onomatopoeia-­‐  words  that  sound  very  similar  to  the  sound  they  name,  such  as  the  buzz  of  bees,  the  howl  of  the  coyote,  or   the  snap  of  twigs.     Simile-­‐  A  simile  is  similar  to  a  metaphor  because  it  compares  two  unlike  things  that  have  something  in  common,  but  the  words  "like"   or  "as"  are  used,  so  rather  than  writing,  "my  home  is  a  dungeon  when  I  am  grounded",  a  simile  would  look  like,  "my  home  is  like  a   dungeon  when  I  am  grounded".       1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Tips  for  Memorizing  your  Spoken  Word  Poem     Find  a  space  in  which  you  can  be  alone  and  uninterrupted.  This  first  step  may  seem  obvious,  but  it  helps  to  alleviate  anxiety  if   you’re  able  to  read  and  recite  your  poem  aloud  without  worrying  about  being  overheard.  Finding  a  private  place  where  you  can   yell,  sing,  and  experiment  with  your  voice  can  help  to  ease  any  fears,  worries,  or  embarrassment  you  might  feel  as  you  learn.  Also,   it’s  important  to  remove  distractions  and  not  to  be  interrupted.     Slowly  read  your  poem  aloud  several  times  and  learn  to  love  it.  As  you’re  reading,  think  about  the  poem.  Note  each  word,  each   image,  each  line  break,  and  try  to  remember  what  you  were  thinking  when  you  wrote  it.  Feel  your  poem  again.  Feel  the  emotions   and  the  passion  of  it.  And  answers  these  questions:  Why  did  you  write  your  poem?  What  is  your  poem  about?  What  were  you   trying  to  say  at  the  time?  What  do  you  think  of  it  now?  How  do  you  feel  about  it  now?  Try  to  develop  a  new  relationship  with  your   poem  by  deepening  your  investment  in  its  meanings  and  its  message.  Don’t  criticize  the  poem.  Just  let  it  be  what  it  is—an   expression  of  your  creativity.  In  other  words,  love  your  poem.     Break  the  poem  into  sections  of  about  3-­‐5  lines  each.  The  sections  can  be  longer  or  shorter,  depending  on  your  poem  and  its  logic,   but  be  sure  to  make  the  sections  “bite-­‐sized”  so  that  they’re  easier  to  learn.  Think  about  each  individual  section  and  discern  how  it   connects  to  the  section  before  it  and  after  it.  What  is  the  “logic”  of  the  poem?  How  do  the  words,  images,  and  phrases  connect  to   one  another?     Create  mental  cues  for  each  section.  One  way  is  to  create  a  mental  cue  is  to  note  the  key  words  or  rhymes  in  the  section.  Another   way  is  to  note  how  the  words  look  on  the  paper.  For  instance,  when  reciting  my  poetry,  I  often  remember  how  the  words  and  lines   are  laid  out  on  the  page.  Also,  you  can  create  a  mental  cue  by  noting  the  feeling  the  words  evoke  in  you.  A  final  way  to  create  a   mental  cue  is  to  listen  to  the  way  the  words  sound  and  to  the  rhythm  of  the  piece.  But  there  are  many  ways  to  create  mental  cues.   So,  use  whatever  method  works  for  you.     Start  reciting.  Begin  by  reciting  the  first  section  aloud  without  reading  the  paper.  Say  this  section  several  times  by  memory.  As  you   do  so,  remember  the  mental  cues  and  other  associations  you’ve  developed  for  that  section.  Repeat  the  section  by  memory  until   you  feel  that  you’ve  mastered  those  lines.  Now,  recite  the  second  section  and  do  the  same  thing  until  you’ve  mastered  it.  Finally,   recite  both  sections  together  until  you  can  do  so  easily  several  times.  Keep  learning  each  subsequent  section  and  reciting  it  with   the  parts  you’ve  already  learned.     Try  to  recite  the  poem  three  times  without  faltering.  Once  you’ve  learned  the  poem,  it’s  helpful  to  repeat  it  several  times.  If  you   can’t  recite  the  poem  three  times  in  a  row,  go  back  and  find  the  places  where  you  forget  and  quickly  create  a  mental  cue  for  those   lines.  Try  again  to  recite  the  poem  three  times  until  you  can  do  so  without  fail.     Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  The  best  way  to  learn  your  poem  is  to  continually  practice  it  in  all  kinds  of  situations…in  the  shower,  in   the  car  while  you’re  traveling,  or  while  you’re  cooking  dinner.  Also,  try  reciting  it  for  a  trusted  person—say,  your  mother,  your  best   friend,  or  your  sibling—so  you  can  get  positive  feedback.  Recite  it  whenever  you  can,  and  pretty  soon,  it’ll  become  second  nature,   something  you  just  know,  like  your  name  or  the  days  of  the  week  or  the  alphabet.