Culture and Spoken Word Poetry

In any piece of spoken word poetry, the poet, whether knowingly or not, incorporates the beliefs and behaviors of his or her culture into every stanza. Speaking publicly and performing onstage comes with an innate responsibility to both the culture you bring to the stage and the culture to which you present. 

Spoken word poetry evolved as a means for the fringe groups of society to explore self-expression in a unique, creative environment. It has since exploded into a competitively practiced, widely revered craft that many people utilize to inform, to teach, and to connect with one another through free verse.

Now, anyone with the inspiration and inclination to spit poetry has all of the tools they need to create and share with others. With this massive influx of new poets and poems, I have to wonder, does this help disparate cultures transcend geographic and social barriers to connect over commonly shared values?

In performing spoken word poetry, the goal is to connect with listeners – but if you inadvertently permeate your performance with patterns of thought specific to your culture alone, are you accidentally accomplishing the exact opposite? In an attempt to share with others, could you actually be alienating yourself even further if you fail to relate to the shared experiences and beliefs of your audience?