While campuses across the United States have been offering spoken word programs for over 20 years, little attention has been paid to their purpose and impact beyond their contribution to the campus social aesthetic.

There is an increasing understanding that performance poetry and spoken word is much more than entertainment. Within disciplines such as English, Ethnic, Women's, and Cultural Studies, scholarship has identified spoken word's role in developing political agency among young adults; its utility for promoting authentic youth voice; and its importance as a tool of cultural...

While campuses across the United States have been offering spoken word programs for over 20 years, little attention has been paid to their purpose and impact beyond their contribution to the campus social aesthetic.

There is an increasing understanding that performance poetry and spoken word is much more than entertainment. Within disciplines such as English, Ethnic, Women's, and Cultural Studies, scholarship has identified spoken word's role in developing political agency among young adults; its utility for promoting authentic youth voice; and its importance as a tool of cultural...