The Intertextuality of Black American Spoken Word and African Griot Tradition: From the Motherland to America

Griots in Africa are considered among the first spoken word poets, as they used these oral traditions to preserve their society’s cultural artifacts and traditions. These African oratory institutions underwent a transformative evolution during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and in the New World, many displaced African-born people continued the griot tradition, expanding this practice to include their lived experiences and social realities; hence, modernizing spoken word poetry. The Intertextuality of Black American Spoken Word and African Griot Tradition: From the Motherland to America by Tammie Jenkins examines these relationships to show how spoken word poetry incorporates musical sampling to connect with historical events, politics, and African diasporic discourses from emancipation through the present. Using works by Meshell Ndegeocello and Ursula Rucker, Jenkins analyzes how they reimagine history, politics, and the arts to create counternarratives that challenge larger accepted social narratives. In doing so, their approach demonstrates how Black American spoken word poets communicate and build reciprocal relationships with their listening audiences across intersections of race, gender, class, and geography.

Tammie Jenkins, PhD, is an independent scholar of curriculum instruction.