ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept of spoken word poetry as an inherently ‘authentic,’ ‘confessional’ genre. Scholarship has asserted the central importance of poems’ and poets’ ‘authenticity’ (see Damon, Somers-Willett, Hoffman); what does ‘authenticity’ connote in this context and how has its value as a metric for success affected the genre? This chapter argues that while the centrality of ‘authenticity’ to spoken word is rooted in the genre’s tradition of social advocacy, due to its subjective, culturally contingent nature it is problematic as a marker of aesthetic and moral quality. Spoken word poets are generally aware of how ‘authenticity’ in valued within the genre and can mobilise techniques to project this quality to their audiences. The structure and conventions of spoken word events further the illusion of ‘authenticity’ through reinforcing a notion of the poet not as an actor nor exaggerated persona, but a ‘genuine’ person sharing autobiographical material. Ultimately, the critical focus on authenticity as an aesthetic quality within contemporary UK spoken word poetry has led to the fetishisation of marginalised identities, the incentivisation of poems concerning personal trauma, and inadequate criticism focused on the lived experience of the poet rather than the craft they apply to their work.
