This dissertation examines poets’ public performances in order to understand the social role of the poet in contemporary America. In the twenty-first century, poetry is increasingly disseminated through live events and digital media, and a rising number of people publicly share their poems. These changes present challenges for authors looking to attain credibility in the eyes of critics and audiences. The Role of the Poet examines how four poets perform their differences from non-authors, and thus form relationships with their audiences. In constructing roles for themselves, poets also make claims about the ontology of poems—whether they are primarily written, oral, or performative works of art. Each chapter focuses on an individual poet’s strategies for performing the role of the poet, and by extension, constructing the role of the audience. The chapters examine the ways poets define poetry; they include discussions of poetry’s ontology and how public poetry performances affect the artform. Performances of authorship are shaped through the vehicles of poets’ writings, poetry readings, interviews, teaching methods, and public programs. Chapter 2 examines Robert Pinsky’s performance of authorship as authority, relating that performance to Pinsky’s canonical ambitions and his affirmation that poetry is an oral, but not performative art. Chapter 3 focuses on Billy Collins’s performance of authenticity, investigating the apparent paradox of achieving popularity while maintaining artistic integrity. Beau Sia’s political poetry is the subject of Chapter 4; his ability to affect change in his audience is considered, as well as his goal of an author-audience alliance. Lastly, Patricia Smith’s performance of authorship as a means of survival is discussed in Chapter 5. Smith performs intimacy with her audience; by sharing details of her life she models the process of writing in order to deal with various kinds of trauma. / text

Contemporary performance poetry is a democratic art form that elicits dialogue and is a catalyst for social change. Yet it is an art form that is still not well understood: it is accused of unconsciously mimicking hip-hop and being a watered-down, lesser version of "real" poetry. However once its power is harnessed it may be a powerful art form that can be used to address social ills and act as a medium for memory work. The themes that are prevalent in contemporary performance poetry illustrate society‘s preoccupations. Different South African and American poets from a wide range of socio-economic, national, generational and racial backgrounds are examined to explore the collective preoccupations that keep emerging in the poetry, issues pertaining to race and class, gender, and to the politics of the past and its effect on the present. There is a long debate around the influences of contemporary performance poetry, which is negotiated in Chapter One. Though Gil Scott-Heron‘s "The Revolution will not be Televised" is identified as being a major influence, Saul Williams‘s "Black Stacey" challenges some of the arguments made by Scott-Heron. Lesego Rampolokeng lays the foundation for South African performance poetry by criticising the new black elite in the country in "Riding the Victim Train". Chapter Two examines how the poets challenge the status quo in their work. Sarah Jones‘s "Blood" illustrates how the new black middle class in America is complicit in keeping poor people on the margins, while Kgafela oa Magogodi levels his criticism against state sanctioned poets in South Africa. Mxolisi Nyezwa‘s "The Man is Gone" illustrates that the new class based hierarchal system in South Africa is potentially harsher than the apartheid one that was based on race. Chapter Three focuses on gender issues that are prevalent in South Africa. Tumi Molekane‘s "Yvonne" illustrates the danger that is embedded in the hetero-normative narrative while oa Magogodi‘s "Samson and deli(e)lah" and Sam‘s "Eve" explore how this narrative is unjustly informed by misinterpretations of the Bible. History and the impact of the past on the present is the focus of Chapter Four. "76" by Molekane illustrates how the apartheid legacy still affects many in South Africa, while Andrea Gibson‘s "Eli" explores the devastating effects of America‘s war efforts in Iraq. Dennis Brutus highlights the cathartic attributes of poetry that is community-driven in "So Neat They Were" and "Mumia". The chapter ends with an exploration of how the form of izibongo is used by Chris Thurman in "Holy City (A Jozi Praise-Poem)". The last poem illustrates how the past informs the present and suggests that despite the bleakness of the past, there is hope for South Africa because of its rich cultural heritage.