A review by yikesbmg
The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop by

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.