Review
The New York Times Exuberant, powerful, and eclectic! As kinetic, exhibitionistic and pulse-racing as a dance routine by Bob Fosse. These poets seize us with rhythm and passion. They give us romance, realism, comedy and politics. That's entertainment!
Russell Simmons These poets grew up on rap, and they speak the language of the people...and give voice to ideas that a lot of people never hear about.
Time The rap world had better be careful. It is getting dangerously close to mainstream acceptance.
Review
Ben Brantley, The New York Times There's a thrill in seeing young people actually work up steam about the sorry state of the world....The poets of Def Poetry flaunt their words the way Fosse dancers flaunt their bodies.
Review
Ben Brantley, The New York Times There's a thrill in seeing young people actually work up steam about the sorry state of the world....The poets of Def Poetry flaunt their words the way Fosse dancers flaunt their bodies.
Book Description
It's where Walt Whitman meets Michael Jackson. It's where Emily Dickinson meets Mary J. Blige. It's Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam, the lyrical, smart, hilarious, and searingly honest new show that has become a true phenomenon on Broadway, earning critical raves and drawing huge cheers nightly. Def Poetry Jam is an experience that's not to be missed: Nine gifted, young poets speaking from the heart about everything from love to sex, politics, and Krispy Kreme donuts. If Langston Hughes or Virginia Woolf were alive today, this is what they'd sound like. The roster includes both well-established and up-and-coming poets -- including Suheir Hammad, author of Born Palestinian, Born Black; Black Ice, a.k.a. Lamar Manson, the first spoken-word artist to be signed to Def Jam Records; Beau Sia, author of A Night Without Armor II: The Revenge, and a two-time National Poetry Slam champion; and Poetri, one of the founders of Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles. Essential for every fan of contemporary poetry, Russell Simmons Def Jam on Broadway...and More is a cutting-edge and constantly surprising volume that takes a fresh, exuberant, sometimes insightful, sometimes comedic look at who we are and where we are today.
About the Author
Danny Simmons is a poet, artist, cofounder of Def Poetry Jam, and author of Three Days as the Crow Flies. He heads the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation with his brother Russell.
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