If you have yet to venture into the world of slam poetry and spoken word, you are unfortunately missing out on an extraordinary and fascinating form of art. These artists pour their hearts into their words. Somehow they always know exactly how to phrase what they want to say. But, slam poetry isn't just about writing- it's about performing as well.
When you hear someone read a piece that they are passionate about, it's honestly magical. You can always feel their emotion. And when pieces of writing can raise critical questions and make you think, that's when it becomes really important. You may not know where to start looking for these poems, but that's OK because I've officially compiled a list of my favorite ones. Be sure to check out other pieces by these artists and more once you're done with these. Before you know it, six hours of your life will be gone to YouTube and this beautiful art form. Enjoy!
*Trigger Warning: Many of these poems talk about sensitive subjects and may not be for everyone!*
1. "Another Rape Poem" - Brenna Twohy.
"I am tired of hearing rape poems, the same way soldiers are tired of hearing their own guns go off."
2. "9 Things I Would Like To Tell Every Teenage Girl" - Melissa Newman-Evans.
"Wear whatever you want, look however you want and you know who can f*ck themselves if they don't like it? Everyone."
3. "Fantastic Breasts and Where To Find Them" - Brenna Twohy.
*Extra points to Brenna for writing slam poetry about Harry Potter porn and making it mean so much more than just Harry Potter porn.*
"My sex cannot be packaged, my sex is magic. It is part of a bigger story."
4. "OCD" - Neil Hilborn.
"The first time I saw her, everything in my head went quiet."
5. "Scars/To the New Boyfriend" - Rudy Francisco.
"So you wanna know how I got these scars? See I swallowed my pride and it clawed it's way out of my mouth."
6. "To This Day" - Shane Koyczan.
*Extra points to me for having this entire poem memorized. Extra points to Shane for choosing a flawless string of words in every single poem he writes, without fail.*
"To this day, he is a TNT stick lit from both ends- could describe to you in detail the way the sky bends in the moments before it's about to fall.
7. "Like Totally Whatever" - Melissa Lozada-Olivia
"In case you haven't realized, it has somehow become necessary for old, white men to tell me how to speak."
8. "The Crickets Have Arthritis" - Shane Koyczan.
"Took me about two days to figure out that that weird girl is his sister. Took him about two hours today after she left to figure out he missed her."
