Spoken Word Revolution, Redux (Audio CD)

Eleveld, Mark (2007). Spoken word revolution, redux (Audio recording).  Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebook Media Fusion. 
ISBN: 1402208693 /978-1-4022-0869-0

Summary:  A book and CD collection of a variety of poetry in the form of slam, hip hop, musical interpretations, and youth-created. A broad range of topics are represented, some with a political theme, such as "Sonny's Letta" and some with a light-hearted tone, such as "Tom Waits, I hate you" and "Truce, why I'm not a businessman".  Some poems explore sexualtiy, such as "Slut", while others explore reflections on self-image, like "Thick" and identity, like "My name is not Rodriguez".

Additional comments: This anthology presents a terrific introduction to spoken word.  The accompanying CD brings the poems to life with rhythmic and impassioned readings, and sometimes background music and sounds like audience laughter and applause. 

Revenge of the "Illegal Alien", by Cesar A. Preciado-Cruz

Preciado-Cruz, Cesar A. (2008). Revenge of the “illegal alien: A Mexican takes on the Empire. Oakland: Making Changes Press.

ISBN 9780615152998

Summary:  Human rights activist Cesar Preciado-Cruz (teolol) releases revolutionary rage in his Revenge of the “illegal alien: A Mexican takes on the Empire, a collection of poems and short stories that condemn the United States for the repression of people of color, for the wealthy corporate elite, for the political lies about Iraq, for the general contempt of undocumented workers by Americans who benefit from their services, and for historical atrocities. Cruz’s radical poems in English and Spanish lend themselves to spoken word to fully realize the emotional intensity of his writing. 

Additional Comments: Some readers will undoubtedly squirm with discomfort from his calls for insurgency in poems like “license this” and “the terrorist” and from his vilification of the American government in poems like “on the 4th u lie (4th of july)” and “things taken”. However, his voice represents the vital perspective of the underrepresented and marginalized.