| dc.description.abstract | This study examines how selected Kenyan spoken word poets give voice to the concerns of the
youth. It explores how the youth use spoken word poetry to confront stereotypes of young people
by trying to reach the broader listening public through politically and socially relevant poems.
The study is guided by the following objectives: to explicate factors that make spoken word
poetry more accessible and easily appropriated by subaltern groups amplifying the performance
of their experiences; to investigate the recurring themes highlighting the fluidity of subaltern
identities amongst Kenyan youths revealing resistance, and; to interrogate spoken word’s poetic
dialogic conversations woven with other voices, enriching meaning within existing canons. The
study analyses the works of selected spoken word poets examining how formal, stylistic, and
performance techniques chosen by the selected artists facilitate the representation of the realities
of Kenyan youth. To this end, the form of the text is read through the lens of formalism, the
concept of literariness by Jakobson to articulate the experiences of young people and to offer
resistance. While the thematic issues are analyzed by Spivak’s concept of subalternity to inform
how young people navigate limitations imposed on them. Bakhtin’s concept of dialogism creates
spaces of resistance and collective identity formation. The study uses qualitative research
approaches to gather textual data from the selected texts. Therefore, the paradigms, methods and
other methodological considerations are in line with qualitative methods. The significance of this
study lies in its ability to raise awareness of a genre that can be used as a tool for pedagogy and
adopted by the youth for talent promotion, making fascinating interventions in the study of
spoken word as an art form and the way it is interpreted. It significantly contributes to
knowledge about how cultural, creative industries can promote youth economic empowerment,
hence informing policy in this area on county and national level and promotion activities
targeting the youths. The study found out that spoken word poetry provides a vital platform for
Kenyan youth to articulate their subaltern experiences, challenge dominant discourses, and
envision alternative futures. | en_US |
