WHAT...

...is spoken word / performance poetry?

• "Spoken word" and "performance poetry" are essentially the same thing. There are a few people who make slight distinctions between the two, but here at whirred the terms are used interchangeably.
• There is a very stylistically diverse range of works that fall into the category of spoken word; many performers have a very hip-hop inspired delivery, some slip back and forth between conversational and melodious tones, others still have no overt musicality to their performances at all.
• What unites spoken word artists and differentiates their work from most conventional poetry is their focus on the audience; metaphors and symbols often give way to decidely unsubtle images and declarations.
• The reasoning behind this should be obvious: audience members can't pause to study a line and ponder its significance in regards to the overall piece; they need to "get it" the first time around.
• One shouldn't take from this, however, that performance poetry is devoid of allegories, metrics, or any of the other elements most commonly associated with printed poems— it would be rather silly to categorize spoken word as poetry if it ignored the most basic conventions of the genre. Rather, the performance poet adapts these existing devices to a medium that allows access to other, more dynamic tools such as sound, action, and the inherent interactivity of the stage.

...is whirred?

• Good question. And I'm getting to it. For now let me just say that if you are a poet whose work falls into the loose category of "spoken word" as described above, perhaps you should submit to whirred. I'll expand on this and put together an actual mission statement soon.

WHO...

...is involved?

• Some of the poets appearing on the inaugural CD are:
  • John Akpata
  • Adam Fraser Davidson
  • Ronnie Deschênes
  • Myriam Legault
  • Max Middle
  • Peter Norman
  • The nth digri
  • Wanda O
  • Steve Sauvé
• Bios coming...