Congratulations to the five incredible poets nominated for a GRAMMY at the 65th annual awards taking place in 2023! Here is a brief synopsis of how this category came to be from an article originally titled:
“Behind The GRAMMY: Why The New Best Spoken Word Poetry Album GRAMMY Category Is A Global Victory For Lovers Of Language (via Recording Academy)”
It’s fair to say that the Recording Academy has honored the spoken word community for some time. At the 2022 GRAMMYs, Don Cheadle won the GRAMMY for Best Spoken Word Album for Carry On: Reflections For A New Generation From John Lewis. (Cheadle won out over greats like LeVar Burton, J. Ivy and Dave Chappelle — and even former U.S. President Barack Obama.)
Still, the wider Spoken Word GRAMMY Field — which houses the Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording category, formerly known as the Best Spoken Word Album — continues to evolve. And when the growing spoken word and poetry communities spoke out about equal representation in the industry, the Recording Academy listened — and responded.
At the upcoming 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, the Recording Academy will award the first-ever GRAMMY Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. The GRAMMY category addition comes along with several other new categories and awards, including Songwriter Of The Year (Non-Classical) and Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games and Other Interactive Media, among many others.
Click here for more information.
And, here are your 2023 nominees for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album:
As the 2023 GRAMMYs approach, it’s finally time to reveal the nominees.
The 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, and it will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT+. The special ceremony’s broadcast time, hosts, presenters, and performers will be announced soon.
Below is the complete list of the nominees for the 2023 GRAMMYs. See you on Sunday, Feb. 5, for Music’s Biggest Night!
61. Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
For albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new spoken word poetry recordings.
- Black Men Are Precious
Ethelbert Miller
- Call Us What We Carry: Poems
Amanda Gorman
- Hiding In Plain View
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
- The Poet Who Sat By The Door
J. Ivy
- You Will Be Someone’s Ancestor. Act Accordingly.
Amir Sulaiman
Click here for more information.
Links:
The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs) | Ethelbert Miller (Wikipedia) | Amanda Gorman
Malcolm-Jamal Warner | J. Ivy | Amir Sulaiman
