New lyric writing: Blurring the boundary between popular and high culture

Abstract

This article aims to give an overview of the new forms of lyric writing by minorities in the United Kingdom, France and beyond. In the context of a globalized, postcolonial, internet era, a variety of forms and modes of broadcasting – from hip hop lyrics to instapoetry via verse novels and more traditional poetry collections – are characterized by an intersubjective lyricism that aims to transform and valorize the experiences of marginalized and minority writers. Out of the diversity of voices and forms, this article shows the shared poetics and features of this lyric writing as well as the solidarities across borders and different forms of marginalization that are often present and opens up lines of reflection and theorization, notably in relation to the role of internet and the developing cultural context of converging popular cultures and national and postcolonial literary traditions.