Spoken Word Poetry in Ghana: The Art, the Articulation, the Artist, and the Audience

Abstract

Many scholarly works have been done on various forms of performance poetry in Ghana. However, not much attention has been given to spoken word poetry. Although the popularity of the art is on the rise on the Ghanaian literary scene, it has not yet penetrated the country’s academia. Most of the research done on spoken word poetry in Ghana are conducted by non-scholars, and are published on non-scholarly journals such as blogs. Perhaps the absence of spoken word poetry in Ghanaian academic discourse is due to the fact that this form of performance art is relatively new on the country’s literary scene, thus, it has not gained much attention. The aim of this research is therefore to stir up scholarly interest in this new art form. Using a qualitative research approach, I seek to do so by undertaking an explorative survey of spoken word poetry in Ghana. I seek to examine various components of this performance art form such as its platforms, how it is disseminated; the distinctive linguistic components of the art; its artists, their challenges and motivations; and its audience, the influence of the art on them, and their influence on the art. This study hopes to contribute to the knowledge of spoken word poetry in the academia. It also seeks to spark interest in the research and teaching of spoken word poetry in academic institutions. Again, this research work hopes to serve as a stepping stone for further interdisciplinary study of spoken word poetry.