Praise for for The BreakBeat Poets -- Contents -- Introduction -- Randall Horton (1961) -- an (i)witness say he still had the mike in his hand -- Joel Dias-Porter aka DJ Renegade (1962) -- Turning the Tables -- Wednesday Poem -- Thomas Sayers Ellis (1963) -- An Excerpt from Crank Shaped Notes -- Quraysh Ali Lansana (1964) -- mascot -- crack house -- seventy-first & king drive -- Evie Shockley (1965) -- duck, duck, redux -- post-white -- Tony Medina (1966) -- Everything You Wanted to Know about Hip Hop But Were Afraid to Be Hipped for Fear of Being Hopped -- The Keepin' It Real Awards -- Willie Perdomo (1967) -- Shit to Write About -- Word to Everything I Love -- Writing about What You Know -- Mario (1967) -- Agate -- Roger Bonair-Agard (1968) -- Honorific or black boy to black boy -- Fast-how I knew -- In defense of the code-switch or why you talk like that or why you gotta always be cussing -- Lynne Procope (1969) -- Shine (for Joe Bataan) -- All Night -- Patrick Rosal (1969) -- B-Boy Infinitives -- Kundiman Ending on a Theme from T La Rock -- A Note To Thomas Alva -- Ode To The Cee-Lo Players -- Tracie Morris -- Untitled -- Jason Carney (1970) -- America's Pastime -- LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs (1970) -- who you callin' a jynx? (after mista popo) -- damn right it's betta than yours -- gamin' gabby -- Mitchell L. H. Douglas (1970) -- Hood -- Krista Franklin (1970) -- Manifesto, or Ars Poetica #2* -- Preface to a Twenty Volume Homicide Note -- Adrian Matejka (1971) -- Beat Boxing -- Robot Music -- jessica Care moore (1971) -- mic check, 1-2. -- John Murillo (1971) -- Ode to the Crossfader -- 1989 -- Renegades of Funk -- francine j. harris (1972) -- Stitches -- Pull down the earth -- This is a test -- t'ai freedom ford (1973) -- how to get over (senior to freshman) -- how to get over (for my niggas) -- how to get over (for kanye).

Suheir Hammad (1973) -- break (rebirth) -- break (sister) -- break (embargo) -- Marty McConnell (1973) -- the World tells how the world ends -- object -- John Rodriguez (1973-2013) -- Bronx Bombers -- What I Saw Was Not Your Funeral -- At My Best* -- Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie (1973) -- Paper Bag Poems -- Global Warming Blues -- Sunday -- Possible -- Tara Betts (1974) -- Hip Hop Analogies -- Switch -- Paolo Javier (1974) -- from All Convulsions -- Douglas Kearney (1974) -- Quantum Spit -- No Homo -- Drop It Like It's Hottentot Venus -- avery r. young (1974) -- a prayer fo mama Brenda Matthews (warrior brew) -- after an artis(t) talk -- Lemon Andersen (1975) -- The future -- Michael Cirelli (1975) -- The Message -- Astronomy (8th Light) -- Kevin Coval (1975) -- the crossover -- jewtown -- molemen beat tapes -- white on the block -- Jericho Brown (1976) -- Motherland -- Mahogany L. Browne (1976) -- When 12 Play Was on Repeat -- upon viewing the death of basquiat -- nameless -- Aracelis Girmay (1977) -- ELEGY IN GOLD -- BREAK -- Idris Goodwin (1977) -- Say my name -- Old ladies and dope boys -- These are the breaks -- Enzo Silon Surin (1977) -- Corners -- Mayda Del Valle (1978) -- It's Just Begun* -- Denizen Kane (1978) -- Ciphers Pt 1 -- Vigil Pt 1 -- Paul Martinez Pompa -- I Have a Drone -- Kyle Dargan (1980) -- CREWS -- SLANG -- O. P. P. -- Tarfia Faizullah (1980) -- 100 BELLS -- NOCTURNE IN NEED OF A BITCH -- BLOSSOMS IN THE DARK -- SELF-PORTRAIT AS SLINKY -- Samantha Thornhill (1980) -- Elegy for a Trojan -- Ode to a Star Fig -- Ode to Gentrification -- Ode to a Killer Whale -- Aleshea Harris (1981) -- Harbor -- Jacob Saenz (1982) -- Evolution of My Block -- Evolution of My Profile -- GTA: San Andreas (Or, "Grove Street, bitch!") -- Nadia Sulayman (1982) -- bint ibrahim -- Sarah Blake (1984) -- Ha Ha Hum -- Adventures -- Adam Falkner (1984).

If You Don't Know -- Chinaka Hodge (1984) -- Small Poems for Big -- Marcus Wicker (1984) -- Ars Poetica in the Mode of J-Live -- Bonita Applebum -- Stakes is High -- When I'm alone in my room sometimes I stare at the wall, and in the back of my mind I hear my conscience call -- Michael Mlekoday (1985) -- Self-Portrait with Gunshot Vernacular -- Self-Portrait from the Other Side -- Thaumaturgy -- Kristiana Colón (1986) -- a remix for remembrance -- stockholm syndrome* -- Eve Ewing (1986) -- to the notebook kid -- Ciara Miller (1987) -- In Search of Black Birds -- Morgan Parker (1987) -- Let Me Handle My Business, Damn -- Joshua Bennett (1988) -- When asked about my hometown: an admission -- When asked about my hometown: an anecdote -- Love Letter to Zack, the Black Power Ranger -- Alysia Nicole Harris (1988) -- When I Put My Hands in the Air It's Praise -- Britteney Black Rose Kapri (1988) -- Winthrop Ave. -- We House: after Krista Franklin's Definition of Funk -- Angel Nafis (1988) -- Legend -- Ghazal for My Sister -- Conspiracy: A Suite -- Gravity -- José Olivarez (1988) -- Ode to the First White Girl I Ever Loved -- Home Court -- Joy Priest (1988) -- No Country for Black Boys -- Ocean Vuong (1988) -- Daily Bread -- Always & Forever -- Self-Portrait as Exit Wounds -- Prayer for The Newly Damned -- Fatimah Asghar (1989) -- When Tip Drill Comes on at the Frat Party Or, When Refusing to Twerk Is a Radical Form of Self-Love -- UNEMPLOYMENT -- PLUTO SHITS ON THE UNIVERSE -- Franny Choi (1989) -- PUSSY MONSTER -- IMPULSE BUY -- Nate Marshall (1989) -- on caskets -- prelude -- picking flowers -- juke -- Aaron Samuels (1989) -- Broken Ghazal in the Voice of My BrotherJacob -- Danez Smith (1989) -- cue the gangsta rap when my knees bend -- twerk (v.) -- Dinosaurs in the Hood -- Dear White America -- Jamila Woods (1989) -- Defense -- Blk Girl Art.

Deep in the Homeroom of Doom -- Daddy Dozens -- Benjamin Alfaro (1990) -- What the Eyes Saw -- Safia Elhillo (1990) -- a suite for ol' dirty -- Aziza Barnes (1992) -- Juicy (an erasure) -- Camonghne Felix (1992) -- Badu Interviews Lamar (an erasure) -- Police -- Steven Willis (1992) -- Beat Writers -- Reed Bobroff (1993) -- Four Elements of Ghostdance -- Malcolm London (1993) -- Grand Slam -- Kush ˛ompson (1994) -- this, here -- E'mon McGee (1996) -- My niece's hip-hop -- Angel Pantoja (1997) -- Murder Is My Name -- Nile Lansana (1997)and Onam Lansana (1999) -- Lesson one -- Ars Poeticas & Essays -- Quraysh Ali Lansana: Art, Artifice, & Artifact -- t'ai freedom ford: Artist Statement -- Michael Mlekoday: Artist Statement -- Douglas Kearney: Artist Statement -- Angel Nafis: Artist Statement -- Aziza Barnes: A Locus of Control and the Erasure -- Tara Betts: Life Is Good: How Hip-Hop Channels Duende -- Roger Bonair-Agard: Journeying to the break: The cost of the pilgrimage -- Patrick Rosal: The Art of the Mistake: Some Notes On Breaking as Making -- Nate Marshall: Blueprint for BreakBeat Writing -- Reprinted Poems -- Acknowledgments -- Biographies.