Watch this video about the new book, The Breakbeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip Hop. This collection “is for people who love Hip-Hop, for fans of the culture, for people who’ve never read a poem, for people who thought poems were only something done by dead white dudes who got lost in a forest, and for poetry heads.” These are the words co-editor Kevin Coval, founder of the poetry slam festival Louder Than A Bomb and artistic director at Young Chicago Authors, used to describe The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip-Hop.

The anthology includes 78 poets representing many subcultures across the country. Since its release, the collection has been highly praised. Chance the Rapper, one of the many writers Coval has mentored, said this about the book:

“A cool & diversified version of a mix tape. The BreakBeat Poets is a thorough and complete summation of Golden Era writers who continue to build the scene of literary and performance poetry.”

And as icing on the cake, the dope cover art is done by Hebru Brantley.

Hear more about the collection below:

You can purchase the book through the publisher’s site here.

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