Killing poetry : blackness and the making of slam and spoken word communities / Javon Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Javon, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American poetry--African American authors--History and criticism.

American poetry.

Poetry slams--United States--History.

Poetry slams.

Performance poetry--United States--History and criticism.

Performance poetry.

Poetry--Social aspects--United States.

Poetry.

Poetry--Political aspects--United States.

American poetry--20th century--History and criticism.

American poetry--21st century--History and criticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (pages cm)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, [New Jersey] : Rutgers University Press, 2017.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In recent decades, poetry slams and the spoken word artists who compete in them have sparked a resurgent fascination with the world of poetry. However, there is little critical dialogue that fully engages with the cultural complexities present in slam and spoken word poetry communities, as well as their ramifications. In Killing Poetry, renowned slam poet, Javon Johnson unpacks some of the complicated issues that comprise performance poetry spaces. He argues that the truly radical potential in slam and spoken word communities lies not just in proving literary worth, speaking back to power, or even in altering power structures, but instead in imagining and working towards altogether different social relationships. His illuminating ethnography provides a critical history of the slam, contextualizes contemporary black poets in larger black literary traditions, and does away with the notion that poetry slams are inherently radically democratic and utopic. Killing Poetry-at times autobiographical, poetic, and journalistic-analyzes the masculine posturing in the Southern California community in particular, the sexual assault in the national community, and the ways in which related social media inadvertently replicate many of the same white supremacist, patriarchal, and mainstream logics so many spoken word poets seem to be working against. Throughout, Johnson examines the promises and problems within slam and spoken word, while illustrating how community is made and remade in hopes of eventually creating the radical spaces so many of these poets strive to achieve.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

1. Let the Slam Begin: History, Method, and Beyond

2. "This DPL, Come On!": Black Manhood in the Los Angeles Slam and Spoken Word Scene

3. SlamMasters: Toward Creative and Transformative Justice

4. Button Up: Viral Poetry and Rethinking the Archives

5. Conclusion: "That Is the Slam, Everybody"

Acknowledgments

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780813580036

081358003X

9780813580043

0813580048

OCLC:

1000521339