(Re)presenting Ourselves: Art, Identity, and Status in U. K. Poetry Slam

• Issue: Volume 23, Number 2
• Author(s): Helen Gregory
• Article: View PDF | Download PDF
• Citation: http://journal.oraltradition.org/issues/23ii/gregory

Abstract

The introduction of poetry slam into the U. K. in the mid-1990’s offers an intriguing window into the development of the art worlds and identities of slam participants, as these poets strive to reconcile the introduction of this new, potentially lucrative, foreign art with their own identities as authentic British artists. This paper explores how slam prompts participants in the U. K. performance poetry scene to reassess definitions of performance art, as well as their own identities as artists.