Oral Poetry and Performance in Black Culture. The case of two contemporary artists: Tracie Morris and Jean “Binta” Breeze

Abstract

Poetry is usually identified with the written text as if the oral form belonged to another kind of literature which is not considered as much important as the 'proper', academic poetry. However, oral poetry is widespread in different cultures nowadays, not only as the heritage of a past folkloristic tradition but as a new roaring form of art. Actually, Tracie Morris and Jean “Binta” Breeze are two clear examples of how the voice can be so effective in poetry and how two different genres, Sound Poetry and Dub Poetry, have so much to tell about black culture and the influence of sound and performance in the individual perception.