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The Fear of Omission

Protests in Poetry Slam

Author(s): Dagmara Świerkowska
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Sociology, Polish Literature, Philology, Theory of Literature
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: poetry slam; language of rebellion; spoken word; social art
Summary/Abstract: Poetry slams are events bordering on poetry, theatre and performance. Organized around the world for over 40 years, they have become a method for the presentation of independent oral creativity. Their important feature is to trigger active involvement of recipients who become judges of slam poetry. Oral poetry created by slammers is usually colloquial. As a result, it is sometimes omitted in academic discussion and treated as devoid of aesthetic or, more broadly, literary values. The grassroots, and due to its oral character, ephemeral work of slammers often has a one-off dimension, so unarchived texts, testimonies of rebellion, disappear forever. The aim of the article is to present slammer statements as a new genre and to discuss the most important features indicating the issues of opposition contained in them, which constitute their thematic core.

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