Download or read book Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and More written by Danny Simmons and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2005-03-29 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "It's where Walt Whitman meets Michael Jackson. It's where Emily Dickinson meets Mary J. Blige. It's Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam, the lyrical, smart, hilarious, and searingly honest new show that has become a true phenomenon on Broadway, earning critical raves and drawing huge cheers nightly. Def Poetry Jam is an experience that's not to be missed: Nine gifted, young poets speaking from the heart about everything from love to sex, politics, and Krispy Kreme donuts. If Langston Hughes or Virginia Woolf were alive today, this is what they'd sound like. The roster includes both well-established and up-and-coming poets -- including Suheir Hammad, author of Born Palestinian, Born Black; Black Ice, a.k.a. Lamar Manson, the first spoken-word artist to be signed to Def Jam Records; Beau Sia, author of A Night Without Armor II: The Revenge, and a two-time National Poetry Slam champion; and Poetri, one of the founders of Da Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles. Essential for every fan of contemporary poetry, Russell Simmons Def Jam on Broadway ... and More is a cutting-edge and constantly surprising volume that takes a fresh, exuberant, sometimes insightful, sometimes comedic look at who we are and where we are today"--Publisher's description.
Download or read book Bum Rush the Page written by Tony Medina and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-04-23 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bum Rush the Page is a groundbreaking collection, capturing the best new work from the poets who have brought fresh energy, life, and relevance to American poetry. “Here is a democratic orchestration of voices and visions, poets of all ages, ethnicities, and geographic locations coming together to create a dialogue and to jam–not slam. This is our mouth on paper, our hearts on our sleeves, our refusal to shut up and swallow our silence. These poems are tough, honest, astute, perceptive, lyrical, blunt, sad, funny, heartbreaking, and true. They shout, they curse, they whisper, and sing. But most of all, they tell it like it is.” –Tony Medina, from the Introduction
Download or read book County of Kings written by County of Kings Publishing and published by . This book was released on 2009-01 with total page 117 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October 2009 Lemon Andersen's County of Kings, produced by Spike Lee and the Culture Project, premiered at the Public Theater garnering glowing reviews from such prestigious publications as the New York Times, New Yorker, Variety, Associated Press, and the Village Voice. Within just a few short weeks of its limited run, the compelling staged-memoir is now available in print. County of Kings is a jarring and poignant coming-of-age memoir told in a unique voice that seamlessly flows from compelling prose to hard-edged poetry without skipping a beat. The poetic and often times gritty narrative paints a vivid portrait of Lemon's difficult, yet at times humorous experiences growing up in New York City. Published independently by County of Kings Publishing, which also published Lemon's first book Ready Made Real, this memoir promises to be the Down These Mean Streets for the hip-hop generation. This is the kind of memoir that redefines the genre while telling a true tale of an all-American community from the 1980's to the present. - Publisher.
Download or read book Utopia in Performance written by Jill Dolan and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2010-02-05 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Jill Dolan is the theatre's most astute critic, and this new book is perhaps her most important. Utopia in Performance argues with eloquence and insight how theatre makes a difference, and in the process demonstrates that scholarship matters, too. It is a book that readers will cherish and hold close as a personal favorite, and that scholars will cite for years to come." ---David Román, University of Southern California What is it about performance that draws people to sit and listen attentively in a theater, hoping to be moved and provoked, challenged and comforted? In Utopia in Performance, Jill Dolan traces the sense of visceral, emotional, and social connection that we experience at such times, connections that allow us to feel for a moment not what a better world might look like, but what it might feel like, and how that hopeful utopic sentiment might become motivation for social change. She traces these "utopian performatives" in a range of performances, including the solo performances of feminist artists Holly Hughes, Deb Margolin, and Peggy Shaw; multicharacter solo performances by Lily Tomlin, Danny Hoch, and Anna Deavere Smith; the slam poetry event Def Poetry Jam; The Laramie Project; Blanket, a performance by postmodern choreographer Ann Carlson; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; and Deborah Warner's production of Medea starring Fiona Shaw. While the book richly captures moments of "feeling utopia" found within specific performances, it also celebrates the broad potential that performance has to provide a forum for being human together; for feeling love, hope, and commonality in particular and historical (rather than universal and transcendent) ways.
Download or read book Super Rich written by Russell Simmons and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A popular entrepreneur explains that true happiness comes not from wealth but from inner contentment and shares personal stories of his own rise to success and how he never failed to remain grounded during the process.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture 4 volumes written by Jessie Smith and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2010-12-17 with total page 1916 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This four-volume encyclopedia contains compelling and comprehensive information on African American popular culture that will be valuable to high school students and undergraduates, college instructors, researchers, and general readers. From the Apollo Theater to the Harlem Renaissance, from barber shop and beauty shop culture to African American holidays, family reunions, and festivals, and from the days of black baseball to the era of a black president, the culture of African Americans is truly unique and diverse. This diversity is the result of intricate customs forged in tightly woven communities—not only in the United States, but in many cases also stemming from the traditions of another continent. Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture presents information in a traditional A–Z organization, capturing the essence of the customs of African Americans and presenting this rich cultural heritage through the lens of popular culture. Each entry includes historical and current information to provide a meaningful background for the topic and the perspective to appreciate its significance in a modern context. This encyclopedia is a valuable research tool that provides easy access to a wealth of information on the African American experience.
Download or read book The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry written by Susan B. A. Somers-Willett and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2010-07-23 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Finally, a clear, accurate, and thoroughly researched examination of slam poetry, a movement begun in 1984 by a mixed bag of nobody poets in Chicago. At conception, slam poetry espoused universal humanistic ideals and a broad spectrum of participants, and especially welcome is the book's analysis of how commercial marketing forces succeeded in narrowing public perception of slam to the factionalized politics of race and identity. The author's knowledge of American slam at the national level is solid and more authentic than many of the slammers who claim to be." ---Marc Kelly Smith, founder/creator of the International Poetry Slam movement The cultural phenomenon known as slam poetry was born some twenty years ago in white working-class Chicago barrooms. Since then, the raucous competitions have spread internationally, launching a number of annual tournaments, inspiring a generation of young poets, and spawning a commercial empire in which poetry and hip-hop merge. The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry is the first critical book to take an in-depth look at slam, shedding light on the relationships that slam poets build with their audiences through race and identity performance and revealing how poets come to celebrate (and at times exploit) the politics of difference in American culture. With a special focus on African American poets, Susan B. A. Somers-Willett explores the pros and cons of identity representation in the commercial arena of spoken word poetry and, in doing so, situates slam within a history of verse performance, from blackface minstrelsy to Def Poetry. What's revealed is a race-based dynamic of authenticity lying at the heart of American culture. Rather than being mere reflections of culture, Somers-Willett argues, slams are culture---sites where identities and political values get publicly refigured and exchanged between poets and audiences. Susan B. A. Somers-Willett is a decade-long veteran of slam and holds a PhD in American Literature and an MA in creative writing from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Texas and is the author of two books of poetry, Quiver and Roam. Visit the author's website at: http://www.susansw.com/. Photo by Jennifer Lacy.
Download or read book The Other Side of Paradise written by Staceyann Chin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-04-14 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No one knew Staceyann's mother was pregnant until a dangerously small baby was born on the floor of her grandmother's house in Lottery, Jamaica, on Christmas Day. Staceyann's mother did not want her, and her father was not present. No one, except her grandmother, thought Staceyann would survive. It was her grandmother who nurtured and protected and provided for Staceyann and her older brother in the early years. But when the three were separated, Staceyann was thrust, alone, into an unfamiliar and dysfunctional home in Paradise, Jamaica. There, she faced far greater troubles than absent parents. So, armed with a fierce determination and uncommon intelligence, she discovered a way to break out of this harshly unforgiving world. Staceyann Chin, acclaimed and iconic performance artist, now brings her extraordinary talents to the page in a brave, lyrical, and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica. She plumbs tender and unsettling memories as she writes about drifting from one home to the next, coming out as a lesbian, and finding the man she believes to be her father and ultimately her voice. Hers is an unforgettable story told with grace, humor, and courage.
Download or read book Gender and Allegory in Transamerican Fiction and Performance written by K. Sugg and published by Springer. This book was released on 2008-10-27 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By rethinking contemporary debates regarding the politics of aesthetic forms, Gender and Allegory in Transamerican Fiction and Performance explores how allegory can be used to resolve the "problem" of identity in both political theory and literary studies. Examining fiction and performance from Zoé Valdés and Cherríe Moraga to Def Poetry Jam and Carmelita Tropicana, Sugg suggests that the representational oscillations of allegory can reflect and illuminate the fraught dynamics of identity discourses and categories in the Americas. Using a wide array of theoretical and aesthetic sources from the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean, this book argues for the crucial and potentially transformative role of feminist cultural production in transamerican public cultures.
Download or read book Russell Simmons written by Carrie Golus and published by Twenty-First Century Books. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, puts it, Russell Simmons "helped found the hip-hop movement and turn it into a huge money-making machine." He co-founded Def Jam Records, one of the first successful hip-hop record labels. He also worked with many of hip-hop's earliest stars, such as Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. Raised in Queens, New York, Simmons grew up obsessed with music—and fought to make a life for himself in the music business. After helping push hip-hop into the mainstream, he took on fashion, film production, and advertising, among other projects. Later, he turned to activism, using his influence to aid different social causes. Throughout it all, Simmons has held onto his unique personal style and unmistakable attitude.
Download or read book Crossfire written by Staceyann Chin and published by Haymarket Books. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of poetry by the world-renowned LGBTQ poet and spoken-word artist dealing with themes of identity and love. Crossfire brings together Staceyann Chin’s empowering, feminist-LGBTQ-Caribbean, activist-driven poetry for the first time in a single book. According to The New York Times, Chin is “sassy, rageful and sometimes softly self-mocking.” The Advocate says that her poems, “combine hilarious one-liners with a refusal to conform” and note “Chin is out to confront more than just the straight world.” Winner of the American Book Award Features a foreword by Jaqueline Woodson Praise for Crossfire “A remarkable collection from a dynamic and talented writer, whose urgent storytelling and commanding voice feel vital for our times.” —Edwidge Danticat “With this astounding new collection of poems, Crossfire, it is evident that Staceyann Chin has come into her raw, sexual, revolutionary, poetic power. These poems are jet fuel from the hot center of the body—from rage, from sorrow, from pure, unmitigated life-force.” —Eve Ensler “We’ve all been waiting for this collection—all of us that know the brilliance, the heartbreaking truth telling, and the magic of Staceyann’s cadences. Now all of us who have been lucky enough to have seen her on stage, heard her from the ramparts, can be joined at last by readers in the quiet spaces to properly celebrate this remarkable voice and watch her take her place in American letters.” —Walter Mosley
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to Hip Hop written by Justin A. Williams and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-12 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Companion covers the hip-hop elements, methods of studying hip-hop, and case studies from Nerdcore to Turkish-German and Japanese hip-hop.
Download or read book Born Palestinian Born Black written by Suheir Hammad and published by UpSet Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: UpSet Press has restored to print Suheir Hammad's first book of poems, Born Palestinian, Born Black, originally published by Harlem River Press in 1996. The new edition is augmented with a new author's preface, and new poems, under the heading, The Gaza Suite, as well as a new publisher's note by Zohra Saed, an introduction by Marco Villalobos, and an afterword by Kazim Ali.
Download or read book AFROCENTRIC THEATRE written by Carlton W. Molette and Barbara J. Mole and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2013 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Afrocentric Theatre updates the Molettes' groundbreaking book, Black Theatre: Premise and Presentation, that has been required reading in many Black theatre courses for over twenty-fi ve years. Afrocentric theatre is a culturally-based art form, not a race-based one. Culture and values shape perceptions of such phenomena as time, space, heroism, reality, truth, and beauty. These culturally variable social constructions determine standards for evaluating and analyzing art and govern the way people perceive theatrical presentations as well as fi lm and video drama. A play is not Afrocentric simply because it is by a Black playwright, or has Black characters, or addresses a Black theme or issue. Afrocentric Theatre describes the nature of an art form that embraces and disseminates African American culture and values. Further, it suggests a framework for interpreting andevaluating that art form and assesses the endeavors of dramatists who work from an Afrocentric perspective.
Download or read book How Hamilton Made It to the Stage written by Gerry Boehme and published by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2018-07-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 2008, playwright and performer Lin-Manuel Miranda bought a book to read on vacation. Little did he know that his random choice would eventually help him change the face of Broadway. The book was Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton, an original Founding Father of the United States. Seven years later, Miranda's revolutionary hip-hop musical opened to tremendous reviews, sold-out performances, and record-breaking awards. What inspired Miranda to tell Hamilton's story using twenty-first-century music and casting? How did his vision transform from hip-hop mixtape to Broadway musical? This engaging book shares this fascinating story.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Literature written by Tarshia L. Stanley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hip Hop literature, also known as urban fiction or street lit, is a type of writing evocative of the harsh realities of life in the inner city. Beginning with seminal works by such writers as Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim and culminating in contemporary fiction, autobiography, and poetry, Hip Hop literature is exerting the same kind of influence as Hip Hop music, fashion, and culture. Through more than 180 alphabetically arranged entries, this encyclopedia surveys the world of Hip Hop literature and places it in its social and cultural contexts. Entries cite works for further reading, and a bibliography concludes the volume. Coverage includes authors, genres, and works, as well as on the musical artists, fashion designers, directors, and other figures who make up the context of Hip Hop literature. Entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia concludes with a selected, general bibliography. Students in literature classes will value this guide to an increasingly popular body of literature, while students in social studies classes will welcome its illumination of American cultural diversity.
Download or read book Do You written by Russell Simmons and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since rising out of the New York City streets over 25 years ago, Russell Simmons has helped create such groundbreaking ventures as Def Jam Records, Phat Farm and Def Comedy Jam, becoming known the world over as "The CEO of Hip Hop." He credits his success to his belief in a set of 12 laws, which he shares in this book. His path towards success can be followed by anyone struggling to realize their dreams. Indeed, those solely looking to build up their bank accounts at the expense of personal integrity should look elsewhere. Blending business insight and spiritual inspiration, Russell believes that all success, professional or personal, comes from a connection with your higher self, and that it's impossible to receive any sort of lasting success from the world without giving something of lasting value to the world first: being a mentor and philanthropist is fundamental to success.--From publisher description.
