Celebrating the Spoken Word in Poetry

Because April is National Poetry Month, I use this time each year to highlight poetry in some way. Poetry began as an oral art form, the spoken word delivered to an audience. The speaking and the hearing of poetry have always been central to its beauty and its effect upon people.

In literary circles, poetry will often be confined to the printed page of a book or a magazine. I will often post poems on my blog to be read by visitors to the site. This month, however, I will be emphasizing the spoken word as we celebrate poetry. It is a call to get back to the original intent of poetry: beautiful and powerful words, delivered out loud and in public with the intent to inspire, to transform, to amuse, to delight, to challenge, to lift the soul.

Below are examples of this celebration of the spoken word that will be featured this month. As each one is posted, a hyperlink will be attached to the title.

Coleman Barks Presents Works by Persian Poet, Rumi

Helen Mirren Reads “Ulysses” by Alfred Lord Tennyson

“My Mama’s So Black,” by Michael Harriot

“The Lanyard,” by Billy Collins

“And Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou

"Nearly Unbearable Grace," the poetry of Joy Harjo, Native American Poet

Bill Murray Reads “What the Mirror Said,” by Lucille Clifton

“Digging,” by Seamus Heaney

Charles Kinnaird Reads “Conscientious Objector,” by Edna St. Vincent Millay

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