Performance poetry

Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed exclusively for performance and not for print distribution. Whereas poetry readings featured poets reading their printed books for a live audience, some of which were recorded on audio media, performance poets use a different style of writing poetry that is less conducive to print and better suited for their oral presentations. Conversely, much performance poetry does not work well when printed in books. Performance poets are often not academically trained in writing poetry. Their poetic allusions are to pop culture rather than to the great literature of the past. Consequently, many performance poets are denied credibility by Academics, but are able to build a greater audience for poetry by communicating to a wider range of people.

Related Topics:
Poetry - Performance poets - Poetic allusions

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The term "Performance Poetry" originates from an early press release describing the popular 1980s performance poet, Hedwig Gorski, whose audio recordings achieved success on Spoken Word radio programs around the world. Her band, East of Eden Band, was described as the most successful at music and poetry collaborations allowing cassettes of her live radio broadcast recordings to stay in rotation with popular underground music recordings on some radio stations. Gorski, an art school graduate, tried to come up with a term that would distinguish her text-based vocal performances from Performance Art, especially the work of Performance artists who worked with music at that time, such as Laurie Anderson. Performance poets relied more on the rhetorical and philosophical expression in their poetics than performance artists, who arose from the visual art genres of painting and sculpture. The Austin Chronicle newspaper printing Gorski's bi-weekly "Litera" column first published the term Performance Poetry to describe the work of Gorski with composer D'Jalma Garnier III as early as 1982 or 1983.

Related Topics:
Performance Poetry - Hedwig Gorski - Spoken Word - East of Eden Band - Performance Art - Performance artists - Laurie Anderson - Performance poets - Austin Chronicle - D'Jalma Garnier III

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The National Endowment for the Arts categorized Performance Art within the visual arts judging panels; whereas, NEA placed Performance Poetry within the category of literature. Since many performance poets did not have publications, the latter classification made performance poets categorically ineligible for the NEA fellowship funding or recognition. Their audio cassettes were not acceptable sample material for literature grant consideration; unfortunately, their performance poems translated into text on paper could not compete with poetry written for print publication. The NEA makes no exceptions to this date for the varied presentation of samples in the poetry category of grants. Performance Poetry with music peaked during the 1980s just as Performance Art peaked in the 1970s.

Related Topics:
National Endowment for the Arts - Performance Art - NEA - Performance Poetry

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During that time, San Franciso and New York were the centers for this type of activity; however, Austin, Texas, (The Third Coast) also had a thriving scene during the 1980s with a coterie of unique characters. Some of the best original Austin performance poets and performing poets who went on to national and international noteriety include Raul Salinas, Konstantyn K. Kuzminsky, Joy Cole, Hedwig Gorski, Roxy Gordon, Ricardo Sanchez, Susan Bright, Harryette Mullen, and others. The Austin Poets Audio Anthology Project, a public arts project, recorded them for radio broadcasts. Other performing writers in the robust literary scene of the Austin area during that time when performance poetry turned into a school of poetry included Pat Littledog, Greg Gauntner, Albert Huffstickler, Larry Thoren, Charles Taylor, Andy Clausen, and Isabella Ides, and many more. Performing poets/writers and especially performance poets excelled in the ability to put the event of oral literature into the primary social/communicative function for literature. The plurality of the literary performance is under the control of the poet/writer, and the performer never minimizes the paricipation of the audience members.

Related Topics:
Austin, Texas - Performance poets - Raul Salinas - Konstantyn K. Kuzminsky - Joy Cole - Hedwig Gorski - Roxy Gordon - Ricardo Sanchez - Susan Bright - Harryette Mullen - Austin Poets Audio Anthology Project - Albert Huffstickler - Andy Clausen

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