Educational Media Reviews Online

Have You Heard the Word? offers a well organized general survey of the phenomenon of "spoken word" or "performance poetry". Spoken word artist Clifton Joseph hosts our journey into the world of contemporary performance poets in this episode of the Canadian television series Imprint. The viewer is introduced to a wide range of American and Canadian performers, who provide a various insights into what the spoken word is and how it is perceived. As New York poet Regie Cabico remarks, "in the 70s everybody wanted to be a rock star, in the '80s a stand up comedian, and in the 90s everyone wants to be a poet." Spoken word artists are shown performing in clubs, on the street, and in music videos. Veteran poet Allen Ginsberg examines the roots of modern performance poetry from prehistoric chants, to Classical Greeks- Homer and Sappho, to Ezra Pound and Jack Kerouac of the 1950s. The African American development of spoken word is explored, beginning with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and Langston Hughes, through Amiri Baraka in the 60s, and including the Dub Poetry and Rap of the 90s. Spoken word artists feel the need to reclaim poetry from the ivory tower of academia and give it back to the people. Performance poetry promotes a "do it yourself attitude", where people don't have to wait to be discovered by someone else before they can get their own messages out. Performance poetry is a revolt against exclusionary traditional academia. As poet Reg E. Gaines exclaims, "People are sick of being voiceless." In looking at the current popularity of performance poetry, Ginsberg states "it is natural that we would go back to the origins of communication to connect with others when the whole human civilization is in question." Vancouver poet Kedrick James comments "our culture has suffered from a deprivation of orality." The program is broad in scope within its subject matter. The informal taping techniques are balanced by the formal organization of the program. The video and audio production quality is very good. The content is created by the poets themselves, which seems particularly appropriate given their performance philosophies. This program is appropriate viewing for high school students through adults, in both academic and public libraries.