Form and Content of Spoken Word Poetry in Digital Spaces: A Case Study of Performances by Thony Voks

Abstract

Contemporary spoken word poetry is an emerging oral genre in Literature which encompasses orality, literacy and technology. In Kenya, this genre is mainly performed by the youth such as Thony Voks who portray an understanding of the urban culture. They also use languages such as Sheng in their performances which mirror the multilingual state of society. These performances are technologically mediated, and are in many cases transmitted through digital spaces. This paper, through a case study of performances by Thony Voks, investigates the form and content of contemporary spoken word poetry in digital spaces. Through the theory of intertextuality, this paper shows that spoken word poetry is a form that is made up of other literary in Literature. The theory of hyperreality on the other hand shows that as a result of virtual co-presence, the selected performances attain the status of hyperreality. The paper also elaborates on hyperreal images and the effects they have on people.