Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Miles, Stephen
Keywords
Slam Poetry, Beats Movement, Hip-Hop, Greek Poetry, Protests
Area of Concentration
Humanities
Abstract
This thesis traces poetry slam’s historical roots through the Ancient Greek Dionysia, the Beats movement, and the Hip-Hop movement as they relate to frame poetry slam as an all-inclusive performance poetry competition distinct from the academic poetry tradition wherein participants feel comfortable sharing their experiences with marginalization. Since its 1980s founding by Marc Smith in Chicago, poetry slam has grown to have a national presence comprised of many smaller slam communities across the country. During the National Poetry Slam in 2013, a protest against one poet took place at the finals competition in an effort to defend poetry slam’s values of a performance space for participants to discuss difficult topics and protect members of the community who might have felt their sense of safety was compromised. This thesis asserts that poetry slam as a performance competition uniquely allows for this type of self-regulatory protest to occur during the largest national poetry slam competition.
Recommended Citation
Rothenberg, C. Taylor, "“This is an invitation to stop swallowing the art in your mouth”: How Encouraging (Re)Action Empowers Participants in Making and Maintaining Poetry Slam as Refuge" (2015). Theses & ETDs. 5102.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5102