A humorous, raccoon hunting story told in 1973 on Tennessee radio led to the largest storytelling festival held annually in the world today.
is
a source of information about Spoken Word performance
in the US and Canada. Our goal is to inspire & promote
performance poetry & storytelling, to celebrate the
diversity of oral traditions, and to champion the search
for a clear and all-inclusive definition of the term "Spoken
Word".
SpokenOak explores the experimental American writers & art movements, popular trends, and fantastical predictions for the future of Spoken Word— from traditional storytelling to avant-garde performance art— from wild-west & burlesque to the Beat Generation. Grow up from Mother Goose to mixed-media, then, go steppin' through the history of rap— from toasting & jazz poets to the explosion of hip-hop. Know the beauty & significance of variety, free speech, and poetry. Dream of what's next: virtual-verse, slam-gaming, robotic tellers?
The founder of this site, a professional word/sound artist, reveals trade secrets & insights about creative process and recalls the challenges of being a performance poet without a genre (before the Spoken Word Movement of the 80's). How do you become a Spoken Word artist anyway?
A good place to start
The Genre Tree of American Spoken Arts
Find a genre, roots of origin, related artists, samples & resources.
Other info
Zoa Smith's Dictionary of Spoken Arts Terms
Links to Spoken Arts Organizations (US/Canada)
How Do You Make It As a Performance Poet?
Visit SpokenOak.com often as it continues to grow. Contact us to link.
