Last week I shared five of what I am calling the BEST spoken word poetry out there, ones that will change how you view the world. Here is a continuation of those first five. I really hope you enjoy and share your favorites!
1. Lily Myers - Shrinking Women
Seattle poet, Lily Myers focuses most of her work on feminist issues. Shrinking Women deals with the hypocritical way women are raised: to hide their authentic self, while men have no such limitations, but rather a freedom where they can eat what they want, be as loud as they want to be, and take up as much room in the world if they so choose.
2. FreeQuency - I'm Sorry Poem
FreeQuency was born Mwende Katwiwa, and is a Kenyan immigrant living in New Orleans. She is a poet, but also, she is an activist who focuses on Women issues and Drug Policy Reform. Her poem, I'm Sorry deals with the shaming that goes on within this country toward sexual assault victims. She points out the problem, and it's not with the women...
3. Taylor Mali - What Teachers Make
As a future educator, I love this. Taylor Mali spent nine years in the classroom teaching a multitude of subjects, and now as a full-time poet he is still an advocate for teachers, and for the nobility in their chosen career path. What Teachers Make is a slap-in-the-face type poem about how what teachers do for humanity is worth more than dollar signs.
4. Ebony Stewart - Happy Father's Day
Ebony Stewart is an award-winning poet from Central Texas. Stewart's poetry usually focuses on extremely relatable topics, which make her writing and performance poignant, if not, at times sad. Her poem Happy Father's Day touches on the relationship between daughter and barely-there father.
5. Oscar Brown, Jr. - I Apologize
Oscar Brown, Jr. was more than a poet. He was an actor, a singer, a songwriter, a playwright, but more than that, he was a Civil Rights activist, and a United Stated Congressman. While he was a respected artist, he was an even more respected civil servicemen. When Oscar Brown, Jr. passed away in 2005, a piece of America's heart broke off. I Apologize embodies the spirit of what Brown dealt with during the Civil Rights Movement.
