ABSTRACT
The Word N Sound Series, originating in Johannesburg, defies hierarchical Western classifications of poetry. 2 Through the Word N Sound platform, spoken word poetry involving live, audience-driven performance continues to evolve, and is disseminated, through a process of audience/creator interchange via the increasingly accessible virtual world of the internet. With its cross-cultural influences and activist roots, the Word N Sound Series reflects a new generation of artists creating their own multi-simultaneous, globalised canon, which facilitates cultural and political exchange. Describing themselves as ‘Africa’s biggest digital Live Literature Production and Development Brand,’ the organisation is certainly one of the most important, lively and innovative communities of spoken word poets in South Africa. 3
