I have an interesting relationship with poetry. I used to write it. (Badly.) I used to read it, because I thought it made me look literary. (Also badly.) Then I forgot about it. And now, I'm finding, I love it all over again.
That's why I'd like to make Poetry Bomb a semi-regular feature here at the Bookshelf to feature poetry and spoken word artists I'm liking as I educate myself all over again, and I can't think of a better place to start than a local spoken word and rap artist I saw perform in my hometown Friday night: Guante. Check out my favorite piece of his, "The Family Business":
I just found his stuff on the recommendation of a truly awesome English teacher, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Whether he's doing spoken word pieces or rap, there's so much power, activism, and sheer emotion in it that watching him perform live felt like I imagine watching the "I Have a Dream" speech in person must have been like.
He's got a free music sampler for download here, and you can find his blog with musings on sexism and homophobia in hip hop, the Occupy movement, great local artists and more ( as well as many other music downloads) at www.guante.info. You can also follow him on Twitter, @elguante.
Have a spoken word artist or poet you'd like to see for my next Poetry Bomb? Please leave your recommendations in the comments!
2 comments:
I had a hip hop theatre class when I was in college and it was one of the most insightful classes I've taken. I can't remember any of the artists that we had, but it was a cool class.
I never liked hip hop until this year, when I realized how much of it was poetry. Love it and would love to take a college-level class on it!
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