Nate Marshall

Kevin Coval

Quraysh Lansana

A first-of-its-kind anthology of hip-hop poetica written for and by the people.

New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop

The BreakBeat Poets

"Blueprint for BreakBeat Writing" - Nate Marshall

Lindsay

We write to assert the existence of our selves, to assert our right to our own lives and bodies.

Because there is no Amber Alert for the Amber Skinned Girls!

"We House: after Krista Franklin’s Definition of Funk" - Britteney Black Rose Kapri

as in white flight. as in redlining. as in naming the train that separates us the red line. as in you ain’t even trying to hide that shit.

"Old ladies and dope boys" - Idris Goodwin

Detroit blocks. Old ladies and dope boys stand off on porches, unafraid. Neither buying what the other is selling.

"Wednesday Poem" - Joel Dias-Porter aka DJ Renegade

then close the folder and slump in a chair.

Which student could these pistils protect,

here where it’s natural to never see seventeen?

"Turning the Tables" - Joel Dias-Porter aka DJ Renegade

"Pull down the earth" - francine j. harris

"how to get over (for my niggas)" - t’ai freedom ford

"the World tells how the world ends" - Marty McConnell

"What I Saw Was Not Your Funeral" - John Rodriguez

"BLOSSOMS IN THE DARK" - Tarfia Faizullah

"Let Me Handle My Business, Damn" - Morgan Parker

"Prayer for The Newly Damned" - Ocean Vuong

"When Tip Drill Comes on at the Frat Party Or, When Refusing to Twerk Is a Radical Form of Self- Love" - Fatimah Asghar

"PLUTO SHITS ON THE UNIVERSE" - Fatimah Asghar

"Lesson one" - Nile Lansana and Onam Lansana

Favorites:
"Turning the Tables" - Joel Dias-Porter aka DJ Renegade
"mascot" - Quraysh Ali Lansana
"duck, duck, redux" - Evie Shockley
"B- Boy Infinitives" - Patrick Rosal
"Beat Boxing" - Adrian Matejka
"Pull down the earth" - francine j. harris
"how to get over (for my niggas)" - t’ai freedom ford
"the World tells how the world ends" - Marty McConnell
"Bronx Bombers" - John Rodriguez
"What I Saw Was Not Your Funeral" - John Rodriguez
"Switch" - Tara Betts
"BREAK" - Aracelis Girmay
"I Have a Drone" - Paul Martinez Pompa
"BLOSSOMS IN THE DARK" - Tarfia Faizullah
"Ode to a Star Fig" - Samantha Thornhill
"Harbor" - Aleshea Harris
"Let Me Handle My Business, Damn" - Morgan Parker
"Ghazal for My Sister" - Angel Nafis
"Prayer for The Newly Damned" - Ocean Vuong
"When Tip Drill Comes on at the Frat Party Or, When Refusing to Twerk Is a Radical Form of Self- Love" - Fatimah Asghar
"UNEMPLOYMENT" - Fatimah Asghar 
"PLUTO SHITS ON THE UNIVERSE" - Fatimah Asghar
"Dinosaurs in the Hood" - Danez Smith
"Lesson one" - Nile Lansana and Onam Lansana

The BreakBeat Poets New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop

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