The Written Spoken Word

Is spoken word poetry meant to be written down? When it is, can the same meaning be gotten from the words without the visual and phonic aspects? 


As someone who attempts to be somewhat knowledgeable about spoken word poetry, I've often wondered exactly what its true purpose is and what makes it so different from written poetry--if it is different at all, that is. Since spoken word poetry is meant to performed rather than read on a page, I decided to focus my paper on whether or not it should  ever be written down for an audience to read. 


Take for instance this transcription* of a spoken word piece (I will post the video later for your comparison, but first, just read this): 

I am your puppet

You are my iron lung

I’m mommy’s little girl

My head is hollow because you said,

“Pretty girls don’t need minds,

Just a man they can

Leech themselves onto”

You were always churning me out to be a soft kind

Never could hate

Or love kind,

Why don’t I just work

At the pharmacy kind—

I don’t want to be kind,

I want to be generous

I have glass eyes that never close so I can’t hide behind the blinding flash of your camera

Constantly in my face

click-click-click

I can’t wick, this is sick

I need to get out

Mommy, when you told me that

After a certain amount of water the grass starts to brown,

I went out and tried to give the lawn a spray-tan

See, I‘d rather die brown and drunk than green and thirsty

I am your puppet

You are my iron lung

I’m mommy’s little girl

My skin is wooded and grainy from your chemical bleaching balms [?] and firming creams

And I can feel

My internal flesh burning as my body is yearning,

Starving for nourishment

But mommy,

You don’t cook anymore

Because you said I don’t need to gain

Another five pounds

Instead, you take me out in public on a leash

After forcing my torso into a corset

Stifling each breath

As I attempt to be Disfigured Barbie

But at least

This is a pattern

And I’m all

About rhythm

Because my breathing

Is the rhythm

My blinking is

The rhythm

And the nurse in the [?] promising to heal me taps

A rhythm

And did I ever tell you

I like to listen to music

Real soft

Because then,

I think it’s coming

From me

I am your puppet

You are my iron lung

I’m mommy’s little girl

I have hinges in my legs, arms, and especially my neck so I can,

“Yes, mother,” “never,” “no, ma’am,”

To the dictator of my household

But you always were the nurturing kind

Except for 17 years, I’ve been trapped

Pumped to life by an iron lung,

My neck elongated like I’m ‘bout to be decapitated

And the metal working

Away at my soft, soft body

Churning, pumping, contracting

‘Cause you know I can’t

And if for a little while I start to feel big

I will always fit

Within your cold, hard embrace

You watch too close

Your depiction of me

Will always be unsatisfactory,

One disappointment after another

I’m sorry mother

Maybe if I was made of plastic I could fit into your world

But I am human

This is real flesh

This is real body

This is real mind

I am smart,

I don’t need to front behind beauty

I do not fit in themes,

I bleed them

I do not follow dreams,

I lead them

I do not apologize

I realize

I cannot be your puppet

You are not my iron lung

‘Cause you are not my master

 Is it really possible to get the true meaning of what the speaker/author is trying to say from just looking at this transcription? Yes, these are the same words being said, but I feel that the performance aspect introduces the reader to a new level of understanding. The video will be coming soon!

*I did this transcription myself after watching the youtube video many times. There are a few words I couldn't understand. They are indicated by: [?]