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Oral Poetry in a Literate Culture: a Performance Ethnography of Poetry Slams

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Oral Poetry in a Literate Culture: a Performance Ethnography of Poetry Slams Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 Oral Poetry in a Literate Culture: a Performance Ethnography of Poetry Slams. Ramon Lavelle Sibley Jr Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Sibley, Ramon Lavelle Jr, "Oral Poetry in a Literate Culture: a Performance Ethnography of Poetry Slams." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 363. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/363 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ORAL POETRY IN A LITERATE CULTURE: A PERFORMANCE ETHNOGRAPHY OF POETRY SLAMS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by Ramon LaVelle Sibley, Jr. B.S., Louisiana State University, 1989 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1992 August, 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3021452 (g) UMI UMI Microform 3021452 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedicated to Dee Comeaux ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study.............................................................................. 1 Rationale for the Study .......................................................................... 5 Methodology ......................................................................................... 13 Significance of the Study ...................................................................... 20 End N o te s.......................................................................................... 28 2 THE EVENT FIELD.............................................................................29 3 THE POETS......................................................................................... 61 Beth Weldon........................................................................................64 Roy Morrison ...................................................................................... 66 John Morrison.....................................................................................69 Liz Knighten........................................................................................71 Donald Strain.......................................................................................73 Sherry Wilson ......................................................................................76 Eve Davis.............................................................................................78 Buzz Hammond....................................................................................80 Vivian LeBlanc....................................................................................82 Jason Smith..........................................................................................82 Discussion............................................................................................ 83 End N otes............................................................................................87 4 THE PERFORMANCE......................................................................... 88 The First Open Slam........................................................................... 94 The Second Open Slam.......................................................................113 The Third Open Slam......................................................................... 127 The Grand Slam.................................................................................. 147 Summary ............................................................................................169 End Notes........................................................................................... 173 5 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................ 174 WORKS CITED.........................................................................................................191 APPENDIX: TRANSCRIPTION METHOD.............................................................195 VITA......................................................................................................................... 199 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Poetry slams are competitive poetry performances that have drawn increasing public attention in the last decade. Despite their widespread popularity, few people outside the poetry slam community understand the nature of the slam’s appeal. This study examines the organizational culture of poetry slams, and attempts to define the characteristics that contribute to its meaning, value and success for those who participate in them. This study describes four poetry slams that took place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the months of June and July, 1999. An ethnographic approach is used to describe these events in terms of three variables: (a) the event field in which these performances are embedded; (b) the poets who performed in these events; and (c) the individual performances that occurred during these competitions. This study proposes that the Baton Rouge poetry slams are unique cultural events that reconnect speaking and writing in a social context in order to engage a wider audience than typical poetry readings. It examines how the organizational structure for these events is designed to include a broad range of poets and audience members. It also examines how the structural features of the slam event field combine to create this unique forum. Finally, it shows how the context for these performances influences the outcome o f the event iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Purpose o f the Study During the last decade, a form of poetry performance known as “poetry slam” has become popular in the United States and abroad. The first poetry slams were organized and held in Chicago in the late 1980s by poet/entrepreneur Marc Smith, who developed the slam in hopes of drawing larger audiences for poetry readings at a local Chicago bar, The Green Mill. Poetry slams have since become popular in other locales across the country. Most of the larger cities in the United States and many smaller communities produce their own local poetry slams on a weekly basis. Poetry slam teams from forty-eight cities competed in the tenth annual National Grand Slam that was held in Chicago in August of 1999. The national competition last year grew to fifty-six four-person teams that competed in Providence, Rhode Island. An international competition billed as the “First International Poetry Olympics” was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1999, built on the sustained success and popularity of these performance poetry competitions internationally. A typical poetry slam
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