Spoken Word performers lift poems off the page and breathe them into the air between us in a way that can turn the wreckage of our tragedies into a celebration. We are ALIVE! Rudy Francisco, Blythe Baird, and Sarah Kay are three spoken word performers, published by Minnesota’s own Button Poetry, whose words and performances take the debris of hard experience, and use it build hope.
Rudy Francisco’s “Complainers” You are still alive. Act like it
Blythe Baird’s “Guilt Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” The urge to write a poem became greater than the urge to write a suicide note.
Sarah Kay’s “The Type” You are a woman who can build it yourself.
If you’re attracted to Spoken Word performance poetry, check out Minnesota’s own Button Poetry. Button Poetry focuses video and social media platforms on spoken word artists. They make high quality short films and release albums of poetry performances, along with perfect bound poetry books. They also sponsor contests for spoken word poets.
You can also learn about Minnesota’s spoken word poets on our ever-evolving writers page.