The Spoken Word Revolution Redux [Hardcover]

Mark Eleveld (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1402208693 | ISBN-13: 978-1402208690 | Publication Date: April 1, 2007 | Edition: 1

From its earliest days to today, poetry has always been a spoken art. On the page and out loud, poetry is the home for the brilliant, the rebellious, the artists and performers who are changing the world. Today's spoken word revolution is the literary equivalent to grabbing a culture by the collar and shaking it hard.

In the tradition of The Spoken Word Revolution, Redux brings more of the gripping, moving, innovative, often hilarious poetry in the oral tradition. This redefining collection gathers multiple forms of "spoken word" under the same motley tent-slam, hip-hop, musical interpretations, and youth movements among them. The resulting brew is both satisfying and world-expanding. One audio CD features some of the best poems and poets, immediately live in their own electrifying words and voices.

The Spoken Word Revolution Redux includes:
- Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley
- Slam Poetry founder Marc Smith
- Ethan Hawke reading Beat Poet Gregory Corso
- Jazz pianist Patricia Barber adapting ee cummings
- Former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, Bill Collins and Mark Strand
- Four-time national poetry slam champion Patricia Smith
- Jeff Tweedy of Wilco
- Hip-Hop founder Gil Scott-Heron
- Indy National Poetry Slam Champions, including Mayda da Ville
- Viggo Mortensen and Hank Mortensen
- Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—As in The Spoken Word Revolution (Sourcebooks, 2003), Redux provides an overview of the many movements—among them slam and hip-hop—that comprise a modern renaissance of performance poetry, a shout-out to poetry's oral roots. Teens will recognize some of the writers and performers, from actor Ethan Hawke to Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan. The placement of traditional poets' work and readings next to those of today's performance artists forces readers/listeners to question the very definition of poetry. Critical essays punctuate the selections, further unraveling such questions as, "What is poetry's intent?" Or, simply, "What is poetry?" Clearly, in a collection dedicated to performance poetry, the accompanying CD is of vital importance. It includes only a selection of the book's poems, complete with sometimes-explicit but never gratuitous lyrics, and not all are performed in their entirety. While the CD gives the book its legs, today's students and educators will undoubtedly itch for a DVD or even downloadable video file to experience the full effect of the poem's delivery. Ultimately, much of Redux retreads the same ground as its predecessor, but it remains a well-crafted, dynamic tool that will not only enliven any poetry classroom, but also legitimizes art forms that are important to many of today's students.—Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In an essay titled "Poetry as a Basic Human Need," Ted Kooser, U.S. poet laureate, describes spoken-word or performance poetry as "a turning back toward the excitement our ancestors felt as they sat close to the fire and listened to their shaman tells stories." And excitement abounds in this welcoming, inclusive, and expert collection and substantial accompanying performance CD. Eleveld, coeditor with the legendary performance poet Marc Smith of Spoken Word Revolution (2003), has selected poems of high energy and deep feeling, vivid imagery and mischievous wit. Poems that can hold their own on the page. Eleveld traces rivers of influence by mixing together works by Mark Strand and Nikki Giovanni, performance "elders," poetry slam winners, high-school students, and poets from abroad. The bond between music and poetry is explored in poems by musicians, including Gil Scott-Heron, Jeff Tweedy, and Billy Corgan, and in poems about music. With razor-sharp critical essays from diverse perspectives interleaved among poems forthright, shrewd, and fired by compassion and love, this is a galvanizing, mind-expanding, and hopeful collection. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks MediaFusion; 1 edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402208693
• ISBN-13: 978-1402208690
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry for the Stage, March 6, 2008

By 

Billy Lombardo (Forest Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spoken Word Revolution Redux (Hardcover)

This anthology of poetry intended primarily for the stage, is the follow up to The Spoken Word Revolution (2003), which quickly became the top-selling and most influential book on the spoken word poetry scene.

Eleveld outdoes only himself in this anthology, which honors many of the men and women who have helped to return poetry to its roots in the oral tradition. In his section Slammers and Laureates, Eleveld highlights Ted Kooser and Mark Strand and Billy Collins alongside powerful performance poet Regie Gibson. In his section, Women Take the Slam, Eleveld honors the National Poetry Slam Individual Champions from 1990 through 1996, all of whom were women.

And for you poetry purists out there who are rolling your eyes in your head at the spine-chilling thought of an entire book honoring performance poetry, you can even read a great essay in support of the slam, by Henry Taylor, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

5.0 out of 5 stars As good if not better than the first., February 8, 2008

By 

Kathryn C. Kenner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Spoken Word Revolution Redux (Hardcover)

For anyone who likes slam poetry or even if you just want to "hear" the emotion" the way the poet actually meant it, this is a great choice.
This one is right next to to the first book on my shelf of favorites. The ones I never loan out! AWESOME!