In most cases of spoken word performances, though the author of the piece may perform their work many different times in different venues, their work is only meant to be heard once. It is not meant to be repeated to the same people over and over again for them to analyze and pick apart and do close readings—viewings?—of in order to find their own meaning in it. I feel that spoken word poetry is meant to be a personal statement that others can identify with, at times, but the author is not opening up their emotions for discussion. The way they perform it, as the writer, is the only way it ought to be interpreted.
That being said, here is the link to the video of the performance from which I transcribed the text (watch it! It's only 3.5 minutes long!). Is it vastly different from what you thought it would be? Did you think it added to the poem? Distracted from it? Did it change the meaning or your interpretation of it?
Wow, I really enjoyed that. Spoken word, I think, can be easily overdone...of course, in this instance, it works really well. I think the performance definitely added to the words. It's a poem about life, and it certainly had a lot of life and motion in it. I think that this poem, flat on paper, would still be good, but not nearly as memorable.
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