Spoken word poetry emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s through poetry slams, where poets would compete against each other by battling with their words, similar to rap battles happening in the hip hop community at the time. The Nuyorican Poets Café was one of the first venues to hold spoken word in New York. HBO's Def Poetry then helped expose spoken word artists to a mainstream audience, leading to more open mic events across the US featuring spoken word and singing.

1. Spoken Word By Gary Bynum Jr

2. The Birth It was all poetry until the spoken word was born in the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s. The Spoken word was born in an event known as poetry slams.

3. Poetry Slams During these slams poets would face off against one another battling with their words. This style of battle was similar to the style of battle happing in the hip hop community. In fact the poetry slam competitions were thought to spawn for rap music and the rap battles gaining popularity.

4. Pioneering Venue The Nuyorican Poets Café was one of the first places to hold spoken word in New York.

5. Main Stream HBO’s Def Poetry gave spoken word artist a mainstream platform. After the show aired cities all across the US began hosting more open mic’s, (Spoken word and singing events.