Button Poetry

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Button Poetry
Founded2011
Country of originUSA
Headquarters locationMinneapolis, Minnesota
Fiction genresPoetry
ImprintsExploding Pinecone Press
Official websitebuttonpoetry.com

Button Poetry is a Minneapolis-based poetry company and independent publisher of performance poetry. They are known for their viral videos of slam poetry performances, including a performance of "OCD" by Neil Hilborn that the Knight Foundation called "the most-viewed slam performance in history."[1]

History[]

Button Poetry was founded in 2011 by Sam Cook and Sierra DeMulder to share poetry performances on social media.[2][3] As of 2021 they had over 1.3M YouTube subscribers, over 275M YouTube video views, and over 2.7M Facebook followers.[4] In 2013 they began publishing poetry chapbooks. In 2015-2016 Button Poetry expanded its publishing operations to include full-length books, starting with Neil Hilborn's Our Numbered Days and Hanif Abdurraqib's The Crown Ain't Worth Much. [4]

Button Poetry has recorded performances by Brittney Black Rose Kapri,[5] Elliot Darrow,[6] Neil Hilborn,[7] Denice Frohman,[8] Rudy Francisco,[9] Danez Smith,[10] Melissa Lozada-Oliva,[11] Emi Mahmoud,[12] Aja Monet,[13] Imani Cezanne,[14] Javon Johnson,[15] Desireé Dallagiacomo,[16] Yesika Salgado,[17] and Hanif Abdurraqib.[7]

Criticism[]

Viral poetry publishers, including Button Poetry, have received backlash from critics who suggest that the works make "a mockery of the whole canon."[18][19] Viral poets have been labeled "Instapoets" due to their specific style and creation for a more broad audience and their placement in visual/social media platforms.[20] At the same time, sales of poetry books and viewing of poetry online have increased.[21] However, poets and linguists have criticized the effects of viral poetry on poetry writing, noting potential homogenization of writing styles among newer poets.[22][23]

Book publications[]

  • 2012, Neil Hilborn's Clatter[24]
  • 2013, Aziza Barnes's me aunt jemima and the nailgun, ISBN 9780989641500[25]
  • 2014, Sam Sax's A Guide To Undressing Your Monsters, ISBN 9780989641548[26]
  • 2014, J. Scott Brownlee's Highway or Belief, ISBN 9780989641531
  • 2014, Nate Marshall's Blood Percussion, ISBN 9780989641555[27]
  • 2015, Cameron Awkward-Rich's Transit,[28] ISBN 978-1-943735-01-3
  • 2015, Danez Smith's, black movie, ISBN 978-1-943735-00-6[29]
  • 2016, Jacqui Germain's When the Ghosts Come Ashore, ISBN 978-1-943735-05-1[30]
  • 2016, Aaron Coleman's St. Trigger, ISBN 9781943735068
  • 2016, Hanif Abdurraqib's The Crown Ain't Worth Much, ISBN 978-1-943735-04-4
  • 2017, Sabrina Benaim's Depression & Other Magic Tricks, ISBN 978-1-943735-20-4 [4]
  • 2017, Rachel Wiley's Nothing is Okay, ISBN 978-1-943735-30-3
  • 2018, Phil Kaye's Date and Time, ISBN 9781943735365
  • 2019, Blythe Baird's If My Body Could Speak, ISBN 978-1-943735-47-1[31]
  • 2019, Desireé Dallagiacomo's SINK, ISBN 978-1-943735-49-5[32]
  • 2019, Dave Harris's Patricide, ISBN 978-1-943735-50-1[33]
  • 2019, Michael Lee's The Only Worlds We Know, ISBN 978-1-943735-60-0[34]
  • 2019, Raych Jackson's Even the Saints Audition, ISBN 978-1-943735-62-4[35]
  • 2019, Brenna Twohy's Swallowtail, ISBN 1943735638[36]
  • 2019, Porsha Olayiwola's i shimmer sometimes, too, ISBN 978-1-943735-45-7[37]
  • 2019, Jared Singer's Forgive Yourself These Tiny Acts of Self-Destruction, ISBN 978-1-943735-61-7[38]

References[]

  1. ^ Schouweiler, Susannah (April 21, 2014). "Button Poetry is taking poems online to reach young audiences – and they're going viral". Knight Foundation. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "History - Button Poetry". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  3. ^ Brewer, Robert Lee (2017-07-06). "Button Poetry: Poetry Spotlight". Writers Digest. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  4. ^ a b c Boog, Jason. "Is Poetry the New Adult Coloring Book?". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  5. ^ Dixon, Danielle (2017-01-17). "Gun Violence, Police Brutality and the Black Man". Soul Reflectionz. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  6. ^ Dias, Elizabeth. "The College Student Behind Viral 'God is Gay' Poem". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  7. ^ a b Salonek, Lauren (2017-04-18). "5 Of Button Poetry's Must-See Spoken-Word Performances". The Odyssey Online. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  8. ^ "Denice Frohman". Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. ^ "Remember, tragedy and silence have the same address: A poem for complainers". The Indian Express. 2017-10-14. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  10. ^ Blay, Zeba (2016-08-11). "Breathtaking Poem Imagines An 'Alternate Heaven For Black Boys'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  11. ^ Vagianos, Alanna (2015-08-20). "One Woman's Reaction To Every 'White Man's Sentence'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  12. ^ Weiss, Suzannah (2016-06-18). "This Poem Reveals What Child Brides Go Through". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  13. ^ Segal, Corinne (2015-09-07). "When the people meant to protect us become our enemy". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  14. ^ Saul, Isaac (2014-05-09). "Spoken-Word Poet Spears 'Hunger Games' With Her Own Story". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  15. ^ Barksdale, Aaron; Jeong, Ji Sub (2015-11-13). "Black Poet Explains Painful Reality Of Police Violence To His 4-Year-Old Nephew". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  16. ^ Hatch, Jenavieve (2016-03-02). "15 Witty Comebacks To Every Sleazy Pickup Line". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  17. ^ Salgado, Yesika (2015-01-13). "How Not to Make Love to a Fat Girl". Everyday Feminism. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  18. ^ Ramanathan, Lavanya (2018-05-06). "From Instapoets to the bards of YouTube, poetry is going viral. And some poets hate that". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  19. ^ Chakraborty, Shamvabee (2014-02-24). "Unbuttoning 'Button Poetry': A Poetry Movement That Is Gaining Mass Popularity". Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  20. ^ Alter, Alexandra (2015-11-07). "Web Poets' Society: New Breed Succeeds in Taking Verse Viral". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  21. ^ Vanry, Nikki (2017-04-20). "10 Poets For People Who Think They Don't Like Poetry". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  22. ^ Bartley, Savon. "Blavity talks performance poetry, going viral and HBO Def Jam with Button Poetry". Blavity. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  23. ^ Donaldson, Jesse (2017-02-05). "This Is Why You Probably Hate Slam Poetry, According to a Linguistic Scholar". Vice. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  24. ^ "Clatter". 2012. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  25. ^ "Aziza Barnes". Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation. 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2018-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  26. ^ Luo, Yanyi (2015-04-23). "[REVIEW] A Guide to Undressing Your Monsters, by Sam Sax - [PANK]". [PANK]. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  27. ^ Margolin, Christopher (2015-06-15). "REVIEW: BLOOD PERCUSSION – Nate Marshall (Button Poetry / Exploding Pinecone Press)". The Poetry Question. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  28. ^ "Transit". 2015. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  29. ^ "Black Movie (Button Poetry)". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  30. ^ "When the Ghosts Come AShore". 2016. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  31. ^ "Blythe Baird - If My Body Could Speak". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  32. ^ "Desireé Dallagiacomo - SINK". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  33. ^ "Dave Harris - Patricide". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  34. ^ "The Only Worlds We Know". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  35. ^ "Even the Saints Audition". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  36. ^ "Swallowtail". 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-23.
  37. ^ "i shimmer sometimes, too". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  38. ^ "Forgive Yourself These Tiny Acts of Self-Destruction". Button Poetry. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

External links[]

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