In spoken word poetry, poets are known to read out loud their written poems to an audience. This performance art has often been described as the merging of Drama, Literature, and in some cases Hip Hop music.
Poets are generally known to either write and perform personal or political poems. At times, it can be a mix of both. As a poet myself, I know that it can be quite a task to create poetry from a place of just wanting to voice my personal experiences without coming off as too political. But how can I not, when my mere existence is political. I am both Black and woman, so with or without intention, both of my identities influence my art.
The same can be said for the following poets who have penned down and performed incredibly powerful poems centred on their blackness. And in the spirit of Black History Month, here is the list of political spoken word poems that are centred on blackness.
