LS5663 - Module 5 - Performance Poetry- Book Review

Eleveld, Mark, editor. 2003. The Spoken word revolution. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion. ISBN 9781402200373.

I am in a high school library and I specifically wanted a book that would work for performance poetry in a high school setting. The cover says "slam, hip hop & poetry of a new generation." When I requested this book from my public library, it seemed a perfect fit, but was I ever wrong! This book was a huge disappointment and frankly, I would never place it in a school library.

When I opened to the table of contents, I scanned, looking for a familiar poet. I came across Sherman Alexie and Viggo Mortensen. I flipped to those pages, and others, and I was simply shocked and appalled at the choice of language, subject, and content. I do not promote censorship in a library, however, I do believe in making the best choices for a school library and its budget. This book is offensive in multiple ways, and if this is the poetry of a "new generation," then I will pass. However, I know that there is so much better out there, that I will not waste time and money on this.

I guess that my biggest disappointment was that I wanted something that appealed specifically to high school students, and the "idea" of this book is what I wanted, just not this book.

This book does come with a CD, which I chose to not listen to, and each chapter begins with an introduction of sorts to the poetry in that section. There are pictures and graphics, done in black, red, and white, and just by glancing, it appears to be interesting and engaging.

I had to search very hard to find a poem to post here, that was clean enough. This one is by Viggo Mortensen.

Hillside

We underestimate damage

done to the sky

when we allow words

to slip away

into the clouds.

~

I remember making promises

to you outside. We

were watching flowers

that hadn't opened.

A bee darted, careful

not to stick to

your half-shut mouth.

I think that for teen performance poetry, it isimportant for teens to feel comfortable with the poetry, and that it is something that they can relate to. But, I also feel that there are moral guidelines for a school activity, and so the search must go on to find something for them to use. Teens may want to perform poetry that they like as a solo, duet, chorus, with music, or sounds, or props. When they find a poem, they may need to try it multiple ways, to see what they like the best, and what makes the most effective performance.

I don't recommend this book, and I have learned to be more careful and critical in picking out performance poetry for teens and a school library.