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yikesbmg's review against another edition
5.0
Yo, if you're looking to get into poetry but don't wanna start with The Classics™ this is a wonderful book to start with. The poetry included is innovative -- playing with different techniques and formats, tricky -- full of references to hip hop that probably went over my head, political due it's intense focus on the POC experience, and so. much. more. If you, like me, have trouble understanding the deep connections people feel to music overall -- READ THIS COLLECTION. It spans from authors born in 1975 on, I think? It could include more authors born after 1995, I think. It definitely needs to expand to include poetry that recognizes women's, especially black women's, experiences of violence and state-sponsored oppression. Would LOVE to see more Asian-American, Pacific Islander-American and Middle Eastern-American voices. It's very skewed to the urban experience but I expected that. Definitely the second best book I read this summer.
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
an anthology of poetry. so much of it would be better read aloud.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
3.0
Spring 2023 (March);
My first of the books I'm read in class, with my class, during the days with silent reading first. I received a full set of the BreakBeat Poets books a few years ago and this has been the perfect change to break into them. While I am not a lover of hip-hop much, I am a deep lover of poetry and it was really nice to watch the navigation between the two on the page. Not a favorite as a collection, but there are definitely a number of pieces I can use in my class & a handful of personal favorite poems that deeply moved me in it, too.
My first of the books I'm read in class, with my class, during the days with silent reading first. I received a full set of the BreakBeat Poets books a few years ago and this has been the perfect change to break into them. While I am not a lover of hip-hop much, I am a deep lover of poetry and it was really nice to watch the navigation between the two on the page. Not a favorite as a collection, but there are definitely a number of pieces I can use in my class & a handful of personal favorite poems that deeply moved me in it, too.
steph_foster's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
howiedoowinfam's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
misslupinelady's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
do96to19's review against another edition
5.0
got this book for an creative writing class.. ended up falling in love with it. the writing in here is absolutely so, so beautiful. i connected to a few pieces and loved reading pieces from different writers.
kiramke's review against another edition
5.0
Just bought this too - couldn't help it, the preview pieces in Poetry Magazine were so good...
Review:
Excellent, cannot recommend it enough. I don't know how to do it justice, so I'm going to quote one of the artist statements.
"The break is forever chipping away new labyrinths toward the place where the human soul goes to feed when nothing else will let it eat. The break is moving. It is a shape-shifter and a trickster. [....] The anthology here is peopled with writers who've paid their tribute to Papa 'Legba one way or the next. They've studied and lived in the liminal space from which the break emanates. They've pledged to the tradition of the break and the pilgrimage it demands. Each is chipping away a different maze to get to where the bass lives, and ensuring that his tracks can only be followed by those who pay the necessary tithes. It is why this anthology is a bible and a code-book. It is essential reading and trickster it is - offering several doors through which you may enter, if you have a clue about what you're travelling to."
-Roger Bonair-Agard
If you haven't read it... read it.
If you have read it... watch the videos, go to the shows, see the kids coming up in the next class that are building on this tradition.
Review:
Excellent, cannot recommend it enough. I don't know how to do it justice, so I'm going to quote one of the artist statements.
"The break is forever chipping away new labyrinths toward the place where the human soul goes to feed when nothing else will let it eat. The break is moving. It is a shape-shifter and a trickster. [....] The anthology here is peopled with writers who've paid their tribute to Papa 'Legba one way or the next. They've studied and lived in the liminal space from which the break emanates. They've pledged to the tradition of the break and the pilgrimage it demands. Each is chipping away a different maze to get to where the bass lives, and ensuring that his tracks can only be followed by those who pay the necessary tithes. It is why this anthology is a bible and a code-book. It is essential reading and trickster it is - offering several doors through which you may enter, if you have a clue about what you're travelling to."
-Roger Bonair-Agard
If you haven't read it... read it.
If you have read it... watch the videos, go to the shows, see the kids coming up in the next class that are building on this tradition.