The benefits of writing and performing in the spoken word poetry community

• Spoken word poets were interviewed and results were analyzed using grounded theory.
• Explored the aspects of writing and performing poets consider to be driving forces of their work.
• Investigated qualities of spoken word that led to the most psychological benefits.
• Performing seems to confer added benefits that would not be found in writing alone.

Compared to other writers, such as novelists, poets have higher rates of mood disorders and suicide. Recently a new form of poetry has taken rise – spoken word poetry, in which performing and competing is incorporated in the medium. This study qualitatively explores how this new form of poetry affects poets’ mood and overall well-being. Ten poets were interviewed, and transcripts of these interviews were analyzed using grounded theory. Findings suggest that connecting with a community, having a forum of communication, emotional development, and having an internal drive to write and perform help the poets to feel balanced in everyday life. The performance aspect of spoken word poetry seems to confer several benefits that would not be found in writing alone, such as social support through connecting with others.