The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol

In this paper, I discuss Poetry Slam events as hermeneutic encounters. Gadamer’s analysis of play, festival, and symbol form the theoretical basis of the discussion. Exemplary data include my research into aspects of the history and ritual of Slam as well as my experiential data as a spectator, c...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: W. John Williamson
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: University of Calgary 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/f25c5ab9be9f453daa4ffa53805c458f
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:f25c5ab9be9f453daa4ffa53805c458f
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:f25c5ab9be9f453daa4ffa53805c458f2021-11-25T21:25:42ZThe Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol10.11575/jah.v0i1.532671927-4416https://doaj.org/article/f25c5ab9be9f453daa4ffa53805c458f2015-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/jah/article/view/53267https://doaj.org/toc/1927-4416 In this paper, I discuss Poetry Slam events as hermeneutic encounters. Gadamer’s analysis of play, festival, and symbol form the theoretical basis of the discussion. Exemplary data include my research into aspects of the history and ritual of Slam as well as my experiential data as a spectator, coach of a Poetry Slam team of adolescents who compete in a provincial tournament for young poets, and as a Slam performer. I contend that, despite Slam’s occasional “silliness,†occasional problems of quality and fair play, and the insistence of many academics that it is not a worthwhile celebration of literature, Poetry Slam has the potential to create meaningful connections between diverse communities and tarry over language as a hermeneutic event. I note that, in an era where text is generated with increasing rapidity while our abilities to appreciate language as an event or as a means of connecting with each other are undermined, Poetry Slams might be the kind of festival we need to seek relief from these trends.   W. John WilliamsonUniversity of CalgaryarticlehermeneuticsGadamerpoetryPoetry SlamplayfestivalPhilosophy (General)B1-5802ENJournal of Applied Hermeneutics, Iss 1 (2015)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic hermeneutics
Gadamer
poetry
Poetry Slam
play
festival
Philosophy (General)
B1-5802
spellingShingle hermeneutics
Gadamer
poetry
Poetry Slam
play
festival
Philosophy (General)
B1-5802
W. John Williamson
The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
description In this paper, I discuss Poetry Slam events as hermeneutic encounters. Gadamer’s analysis of play, festival, and symbol form the theoretical basis of the discussion. Exemplary data include my research into aspects of the history and ritual of Slam as well as my experiential data as a spectator, coach of a Poetry Slam team of adolescents who compete in a provincial tournament for young poets, and as a Slam performer. I contend that, despite Slam’s occasional “silliness,†occasional problems of quality and fair play, and the insistence of many academics that it is not a worthwhile celebration of literature, Poetry Slam has the potential to create meaningful connections between diverse communities and tarry over language as a hermeneutic event. I note that, in an era where text is generated with increasing rapidity while our abilities to appreciate language as an event or as a means of connecting with each other are undermined, Poetry Slams might be the kind of festival we need to seek relief from these trends.  
format article
author W. John Williamson
author_facet W. John Williamson
author_sort W. John Williamson
title The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
title_short The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
title_full The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
title_fullStr The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
title_full_unstemmed The Hermeneutics of Poetry Slam: Play, Festival and Symbol
title_sort hermeneutics of poetry slam: play, festival and symbol
publisher University of Calgary
publishDate 2015
url https://doaj.org/article/f25c5ab9be9f453daa4ffa53805c458f
work_keys_str_mv AT wjohnwilliamson thehermeneuticsofpoetryslamplayfestivalandsymbol
AT wjohnwilliamson hermeneuticsofpoetryslamplayfestivalandsymbol
_version_ 1718410067423789056