Full Title: "This British-Jamaican-Nigerian poet’s verses capture all the painful mundanity surrounding sexual assault (via Quartz)" In a wave both disturbing and necessary, sexual assault—an old, pervasive, societal ill—has taken over the news cycle. Dozens of women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, more than 200 said filmmaker James Toback harassed them, and fashion … Continue reading Poet’s verses capture all painful mundanity surrounding sexual assault (via Quartz)
Poet Jane Hirshfield read this poem from the stage at the March for Science in Washington last April. The march featured pop-up poetry writing workshops, and more than 20 banners with science poems by well-known poets: Gary Snyder, W .S. Merwin, Tracy K. Smith and others. “Poems are visible right now, which is terribly ironic, … Continue reading On Poetry: Our protest poems can speak volumes (via Record Eagle)
Full Title: "Youtube sensation Nego True of Leyton gets on board for foster kids' mentoring project (via Guardian)" Watch the poem here! A Youtube sensation has joined forces with a children’s charity to pair up youngsters in foster care with positive mentors they can look up to. Nego True of Leyton recently launched the campaign, … Continue reading Nego True gets on board for foster kids’ mentoring project (via Guardian UK)
De'Jon White was on the wrong path. At age 17, he was convicted for felonious assault. He was in a gang. He was making mistakes. He recognizes it now and recognized during his incarceration. "It took me three years (behind bars) to discover who I was," he said. "I was striving to be someone that … Continue reading Columbus man performs the Spoken Word after his life changed while behind bars (via ABC6)
Lansing, Michigan. It doesn't get more intimate than gathering on someone's front porch to hear a live acoustic performance. Gather on six front porches, and you've got the Moores Park Porch Fest, a music and spoken word festival featuring free shows on neighbors' porches in Lansing's Moores Park neighborhood. The free event is happening on Saturday, organized by the Moores Park … Continue reading A free music festival on six front porches (via Lansing State Journal)
Missouri-based poet Dana Levin embarked on her poetry career at a young age: She was first bitten by the poetry bug in second grade after a particular writing assignment. “After watching films in the cafeteria, Mrs. Long asked us to write a paragraph about one of them. I was really excited about one featuring an … Continue reading Poetry and prose to meet in literary evening (via Idaho Mountain Express)
Three years ago, an unpublished poet from Toronto took the stage at the semifinals for the National Poetry Slam in Oakland, Calif. Sabrina Benaim was visibly nervous as she read “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” aloud for the first time, delivering the deeply personal poem in a breathless burst that has been immortalized in … Continue reading Is Poetry the New Adult Coloring Book? (via Publisher’s Weekly)
Poetry has been used as a medium to communicate for centuries. Written, recited and published in various forms, this form of literature has come a long way today. From sonnets to free verses, and ballads to modern, poetry has evolved over the years. Chennai too has its set of poetry-high people. With clubs and groups … Continue reading Lyrical verses now in Slams and Spoken Word (via The New Indian Express)
Watch the poem here! Of all the responses to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, one of the most poignant came on Monday night's (Aug. 14) Tonight Show courtesy of Swet Shop boys rapper and Star Wars actor Riz Ahmed. Asked by host Jimmy Fallon if he had anything to say about the … Continue reading Riz Ahmed Spits Intense ‘Sour Times’ Spoken Word in Wake of Charlottesville Violence (via Billboard)
LATE one night this spring, Justin Snider, an assistant dean at Columbia University, was riding the uptown No. 2 in Manhattan when the train ground to a halt. After about 15 minutes — with little information about the delay and no cell service — everyone in the car was getting restless. Suddenly, inspiration struck. “I … Continue reading Memorize That Poem! (via NY Times)
