What is urban poetry? Well, have you ever seen or watched a performance of poetry on the streets? I used to do this myself when I was younger. It takes some courage, but out on the streets you always have an audience of some kind. I would get on top of a wooden box with a microphone stand and perform my poetry to anyone who was walking by and who might be prepared to stop and listen for a while. Yep, I was a little bit more insane back then. I've seen others do similar. Urban poetry doesn't have to be outdoors. It can be anywhere. Some of the best urban poetry pops up unexpectedly and takes us all by surprise.
Urban poetry is about being on the right side of history. It's about telling the truth in spoken word. It can be about down to earth subjects with which we can all identify, like love and loss, traffic jams, chip shop queues, losing your keys, self esteem, or simply... living in a city. More often than not, urban poetry is a protest about something - corrupt politicians, war, poverty, pollution, racism... you name it. If you want to speak out against something by writing and performing poetry, you can call it urban poetry. There's no room for flowery language in urban poetry. It's delivered in a no-compromise, earthy, gritty, street level rhythm and tempo with plenty of rhyme and some choice language too.
Classic urban poetry proponents include Manchester Poet Mike Garry performing Penny for the Guy in an outdoor market, or Gil Scott Heron with his classic The Revolution will not be Televised complete with a bass and drum accompaniment.
Look out also for excellent urban poets such as Harry Baker, the inimitable John Cooper Clark (here he is in 1980 with a poem about urban decay called Beasley Street) and Birmingham poet and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah (here with a 2009 performance of Dis Poetry)... all of whom have influenced my own writing and poetry performances and probably inspired me to write my 2020 collection Urban Voices. If you have poetry in you, and it is just screaming to get out, try the spoken word as well as the written word to get your message out there. You can do a lot worse than plunge into some poetry performances out on the street.
Be an urban poet - and go make some waves.
Steve Wheeler
Image copyright by Steve Wheeler 2023
My daughters have both used the platform afforded by local coffee house establishments for that purpose. The younger of the two, holds poetry workshops with open mic events, in order to give local poets the opportunity to present their work. It's a family tradition since my youth in the 1970s.
ReplyDeleteI admire that in your family Imelda. Both Andi and Victoria are amazing poets and performers, and I'm glad to hear they are creating waves in their community with the spoken word.
DeleteI have seen a few urban poets on street corners in Chicago… they certainly did not go on about any butterflies, that’s for sure. Very visceral in your face poetry that lacks a punch, they represent the voice of the homeless, destitute, and discontent. Definitely worth looking into the poets you have named! Thanks for the great article Steve!
ReplyDeleteIt's important that once you have a voice, you tell the truth, no matter how offensive that truth may be. Urban poetry is all about challenging the status quo and calling for change to occur.
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