The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Mark Eleveld (Editor), Marc Kelly Smith (Narrator), Billy Collins (Author)
Key Phrases: youth speaks, poetry circus, slam poets, Walt Whitman, Green Mill, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Given that it documents an oral medium, this collection has to be judged mostly by its accompanying CD, with the print text secondary. Narrated with forced garrulousness by slam paterfamilias Mark Smith, the disc begins with an introduction from poet laureate Billy Collins, which gives way to a Quincy Troupe piece (with slick guitar accompaniment), filed under the odd designation "Beat Remnants." That term is also applied to decidedly nonperformance poets Edward Hirsch (who literally phones in a poem with correspondingly poor audio quality) and Marvin Bell, who gives an arid, audience-less studio performance. Things pick up with Slam star Saul Williams's pro performance and 1999 slam champion Roger Bonair-Agard's electrifying and often hilarious alphabetic poem. Of the 50 poets in the book, 20 make it onto the disc-which is 75 minutes long and features 46 cuts, a good third of them interjections from Smith. A few book-only poets, like Thomas Lux, offer essays or commentary rather than poems. Despite this collection's shortcomings, it should be seen as just one take on a various and magisterial art; its appearance heralds spoken word's further entry into the marketplace, a presence that should spread logarithmically over the coming years. Cognoscenti will grumble at this or that choice, and one might hope for a DVD next time, but as an introduction for neophytes, this package more or less gets the job done.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Poetry began as an oral tradition and has circled back to its "live" roots in a movement known as the spoken-word revolution. Thanks to the innovators profiled in this delineating anthology, poetry is now performed, often competitively and quite dramatically, in front of large and enthusiastic audiences in bars and coffeehouses all over the world. Editor Eleveld, a high-school teacher in Joliet, Illinois, cofounder of EM Press, and an eloquent champion of spoken-word poetry, has joined forces with Smith, the acclaimed Chicago-based poet and creator of the poetry slam, to trace the evolution of spoken-word poetry from the Beats to rap, hip-hop, and performance art. The result is a dynamic and clarifying volume chock-full of fresh and informative commentary by the likes of Billy Collins, Marvin Bell, and Jerry Quickley and an exciting array of knock-out poems by Patricia Smith, Tara Betts, Jeff McDaniel, Roger Bonair-Agard, Bob Holman, Regie Gibson, DJ Renegade, Jean Howard, Luis Rodriguez, Saul Williams, and many more. Eleveld and his contributors not only celebrate the verve, artistry, and significance of performance poetry but also anchor it firmly within the splendid, age-old, and life-sustaining universe of poetry, where it so rightfully belongs. And speaking of spoken, an accompanying CD presents poets performing their work. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks MediaFusion (April 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402200374
• ISBN-13: 978-1402200373
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #813,546 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars get excited about poetry, January 21, 2005

By	D. Curry "dmc21043" (Ellicott City, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a high school English teacher and The Spoken Word Revolution has completely changed the way my students respond to poetry. Whenever I used to say we were going to look at a poem my students would groan. Now they come into the classroom reminding me that Friday is poetry day and cheering the poems we listen to and discuss. The selection of poetry is wonderfully diverse but the audio CD is the best part. Listening to these poets is electrifying and has really sucked in my students. Suddenly they are going to poetry slams and submitting to the literary magazine. Suddenly poetry is fun. I cannot say enough good things about this collection.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slam comes to main street, September 23, 2003

By	Rick Sheridan "AudioColumn.com" (Xenia, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Spoken Word Revolution is a collection of the written and performed works of more than 40 of the most influential slam, hip hop and performance poets in the world today. Slam poetry has evolved into an exciting cultural movement, with attendance far surpassing the traditional open mike poetry readings (anyone is welcome to participate and the crowd is generally supportive). The Spoken Word Revolution captures today's words and voices, in text and also on CD. Editor Mark Eleveld, a high-school teacher in Joliet, Illinois, has joined forces with Marc Smith, creator of the poetry slam. Together they trace the evolution of spoken-word poetry and rebirth of the oral tradition.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ALA Booklist, starred review, April 7, 2003

By A Customer

Here's a STARRED REVIEW, followed by a recommendation for young adult
readers:

*STAR*The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip-Hop, and the Poetry of a New Generation. Ed. by Mark Eleveld and Marc Smith. Apr. 2003. 256p.index. Sourcebooks...(1-4022-0037-4). 811.

Poetry began as an oral tradition and has circled back to its "live" roots in a movement known as the spoken-word revolution. Thanks to the innovators profiled in this delineating anthology, poetry is now performed, often competitively and quite dramatically, in front of large and enthusiastic audiences in bars and coffeehouses all over the world. Editor Eleveld, a high-school teacher in Joliet, Illinois, cofounder of EM Press, and an eloquent champion of spoken-word poetry, has joined forces with Smith, the acclaimed Chicago-based poet and creator of the poetry slam, to trace the evolution of spoken-word poetry from the Beats to rap, hip-hop, and performance art. The result is a dynamic and clarifying volume chock-full of fresh and informative commentary by the likes of Billy Collins, Marvin Bell, and Jerry Quickley and an exciting array of knock-out poems by Patricia Smith, Tara Betts, Jeff McDaniel, Roger Bonair-Agard, Bob Holman, Regie Gibson, DJ Renegade, Jean Howard, Luis Rodriguez, Saul Williams, Sherman Alexie, and many more. Eleveld and his contributors not only celebrate the verve, artistry, and significance of performance poetry but also anchor it firmly within the splendid, age-old, and life-sustaining universe of poetry, where it so rightfully belongs. And speaking of spoken, an accompanying CD presents poets performing
their work.-D.S.

YA: Accessible and lively poetry, hip page design, poets' bios, and anecdotal commentary make this a natural for teens. Donna Seaman.