Heterogeneity and Performance of Spoken Word in Kenya

Abstract

This study investigates the role of intertextuality and performance in the creation of meaning and aesthetic appeal in the spoken word poetry of fourteen Kenyan spoken word poets namely Brigeddia Poet, Dan Oballa, Dorphan, El-Poet, Elsaphan Njora, Imani woomera, Kennet B., Mufasa, Namatsi Lukoye, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Raya Wambui, Teardrops, Tess Aura, and Wanjiku Mwaura. The interrogation of the numerous ways in which spoken word texts create meaning through intertextuality focuses on the oral tradition, the novel and other forms of oral poetry like jazz, hip-hop and dub, while creation of meaning through performance takes into account the techniques used by the poets to enhance the interpretation of their poems. Thus, the research draws upon the theory of intertextuality to examine how the interpretation of spoken word relies on other texts, and how this contributes to the heterogeneity of this genre. The study also adopts the performance theory to establish how the poets manipulate the performance techniques and other theatrical elements to enhance the interpretation of their poems as well as add to the general aesthetic appeal. A close textual analysis of spoken word poetry reveals that the genre is diverse in nature since it incooporates other art forms and cannot be studied in isolation without paying attention to other texts embedded within it which play a major role in the interpretation of the text. However, in as much as spoken word constitutes other genres within it, it still retains its own unique features that seperate it from the rest. These unique features are mainly realised through performance, because it is the manner in which spoken word is articulated that distinguishes it from other forms of oral poetry.