One of the most common sorts of spoken word performances is Performance Poetry , where a poet either reads previously-published poems, or reads poems specifically written to be performed aloud. Another kind that has gained popularity in recent years is political and social commentary, done in such a way that it is, while still prose, somewhat more artistic than a typical speech. Spoken word artists are often poets and musicians. Spoken word gained notoriety in the late 1980s and early 1990s through the emergence of " Poetry Slams ," where spoken word artists would square off in Cabaret -style duels.
