Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam

Rating:
Summary: bum rushing
Review: bum rush the page will be hailed as a classic in the years to come. Combining established poets like Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez with up and coming poets like Shaggy Flores, Mariposa and Thien Bao Phi. The subject matter is broad and the chapter titles read like a poem itself. From the foward by Sonia Sanchez
you know the ride will be better, every openign poem of each chapter will draw you in, asking for more, wanting you to write a poem, making you love the poem and understanding that poetry isn't only shakespeare and his sonnets. Bum Rush the Page will live in cirriculums for years to come. From Beau Sia's "Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry" to Bonafide Rojas"s "The Creed of a Graffiti Writer", these poems reflect poetry in the 21st century. Tony Medina and Louis Reyes Rivera have done justice to opening people's eyes on what poetry will always be, the voice of the people.

Rating:
Summary: Mouth Open & Closed
Review: Some poetry is hard to read on the page because it needs to be recited out loud. But poems like "A Poet is not a jukebox" by Dudley Randall are so tight they could be read out loud or on a page and still be flawless. Some of the poems were great! Others could've stayed in the poets head ("It's called Kings" by by Susana Cabanas). Overall, I thought the book was cool but the show is better by a long shot.

Rating:
Summary: Mouth Open & Closed
Review: Some poetry is hard to read on the page because it needs to be recited out loud. But poems like "A Poet is not a jukebox" by Dudley Randall are so tight they could be read out loud or on a page and still be flawless. Some of the poems were great! Others could've stayed in the poets head ("It's called Kings" by by Susana Cabanas). Overall, I thought the book was cool but the show is better by a long shot.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but....
Review: There are few poetry anthologies that one will turn to time and time again for a poetic take on reality. Bum Rush the Page is that sort of anthology and more. It is filled with poetry that will make you cry, laugh out loud, say "Amen," say "Well alright," and make you nod your head in solidarity. It's the kind of book you can read on the train, subway, bus, plane, the kind of book you can read in bed, alone or not, on the couch, alone or not. The poems tell it like it is, they dance, they sway and they groove. They are tough, funny, inspirational, and blunt. In some cases, they are..., sensual and revolutionary. In the end, they are works of some of the best poets with fresh voices and fresh styles, saying it loud.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but....
Review: This was okay, but take a look at Aloud: Voices from the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe. I read that book a few years ago, and still hold it one of my favorite books. I was hoping that this would be more of the same, but not quite.

Rating:
Summary: busta review
Review: Very good book on the spoken word, really enjoyed 'Dare to be different'.