Volume V (2022)
has arisen in a time when modern poetry and its ontological characteristics are synonymous with
inscription. In a performance of the poem, the speaker is memorizing what was first written, and
adherence to the text is important for a good performance. Since an “ inscription-based poem is
linguistically complete,” in performance, “all the words…must be sounded out in an
instantiatio n.” 24 A spoken word performance is merely a token of the original type, unlike
historical declamation, where a performance could be either a token (with a large degree of
linguistic fluidity) or a novel, extemporaneous poetic performance. Due to modern copyright
laws, there are also practical implications for spoken word poetry to be considered a
performance of an inscription-based poem. When a poem is recited during a spoken word
competition, it is strictly a performance of the poet’s original work. Under a declamation-based
poetry-model — where it is normal to utilize different word order and choice — there would
certainly be a copyright violation given that the original poem is likely written down and thereby
the poet’s intention is “fixed” in writing.
We should expect that the ontological status of poetry will change over time as
different forms are evaluated and appreciated differently, just as it has up until today. Poetry is
an evolving “cultural entity,” 25 as Ribeiro puts. A poem is subject to the identity conditions of
the mainstream poetic movement at the time. Poetry is ontologically distinct from literature, as
it clearly makes its evolution apart from novels, just as novels evolve separately from visual
art. As poetry evolves and continues to challenge the distinction between the older
declamation-based tradition and the modern inscription-based tradition, further implications
will continue to arise and challenge the ontological status of the living entity that is poetry.
24 Ribeiro, 142. 25 Ribeiro, 142.
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