A few years ago, locally, a sustained promotion of spoken word poetry went hand in hand with the evisceration of the library service, the meltdown of adult education and the sidelining of independent, 'non-professional' groups. In some instances the same people were involved across the spectrum. So it isn't just a matter of beleagured would-be ivory avant towers under duress: avanty writers connected to the unis were untouched by this, while the creative writing programs boomed.  These things are part of a wider cultural shift.