“I’m sorry became my mantra.”
Congratulations to Omar Holmon on topping 100,000 views on this phenomenal poem. Check out more videos from Omar here and here.
And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and books by Jacqui Germain, Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Guante, and our newest release from Rachel Wiley!
“Would you rather be completely covered in fur like head-to-toe, monster type of shit, or, stay with me, stay with me, be perfectly smoothy smooth, in all of the right places: thighs, crotch, armpits, upper-lip, neck? But here’s the caveat: all of the hair that would’ve grown in those places takes the form of a tail.”
Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and Jose Soto. Congrats poets!
While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including books by Danez Smith, Olivia Gatwood, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Stevie Edwards, Claire Schwartz, Guante & our newest release from Rachel Wiley!
“We spelled love ‘G-I-V-E.’”
Congratulations to Sarah Kay on topping 1,000,000 views on this beautiful poem. Check out more videos from Sarah here and here.
And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and books by Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Guante, and our newest release from Rachel Wiley!
“Oh Fuck Boy, how did I live without you? Why didn’t I know I needed someone to drink all of my Hennessy?”
Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Ashlee Haze, Sabrina Benaim, & Jared Paul. Congrats poets!
While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including books by Danez Smith, Olivia Gatwood, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Stevie Edwards, Claire Schwartz, Guante & our newest release from Rachel Wiley!
“In a fish tank of predators, I wonder if I, too, am a predator by association.”
Congratulations to Blythe Baird on topping 250,000 views on this phenomenal poem. Check out more videos from Blythe here and here.
And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and books by Jacqui Germain, Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, and our newest release from Guante!
Rachel Wiley – A Response to the Men of OkCupid (Nothing Is Okay Book Preview)
Full Text of Poem
I.
I do not wish to see your dick on cam
Nor on Tinder or Instagram
I could not would not on a phone
Nor on an iPad, please leave me alone
I do not wish to see your cocks
Not in your hands, nor in a box
I will not see it on a boat
Or side-by-side with the TV remote
I would not could not watch you jerk it online
Not on YouTube, FetLife, or Vine
Not on GChat, Tumblr, or Kik
No, I do not wish to see your dick.
II.
A Working List of Places I WOULD Like to See Your Dick:
• Thrusting towards the spin of a rusty fan blade
“Sooner or later you will realize that you are praying to your own shadow, that you are standing in front of mirrors and are worshipping your own reflection.”
Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Rudy Francisco, Olivia Gatwood, Rachel McKibbens, & Sienna Burnett. Congratulations poets!
While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including books by Danez Smith, Olivia Gatwood, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Stevie Edwards, Claire Schwartz, & our newest release from Guante!
“You are so much stronger than the world has ever even told you.”
Congratulations to Clementine von Radics on topping 1,000,000 views on this marvelous poem. Check out more videos from Clementine here and here.
And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and books by Jacqui Germain, Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, and our newest release from Guante!
“My depression is like that guy lifting directly in front of the weight rack.”
Congratulations to Nora Cooper on topping 100,000 views on this phenomenal poem. Check out more videos from Nora here and here.
And while you’re here, make sure to check out our other books and merch as well, including our awesome t-shirts and poster and books by Jacqui Germain, Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, and our newest release from Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre!
In-Depth Look: Bao Phi – “Broken/English”
Appreciating poetry is often about patience: sitting with a poem, meditating on it, and re-reading it multiple times. With spoken word, we don’t always get a chance to do that. This series is about taking that chance, and diving a little deeper into some of the new poems going up on Button.
“Year after year she makes flowers bloom in the hood, petals in the face of this land that doesn’t want her here.”
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Write-up by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre
In a few of these writeups, I’ve written about the immense power of identifying moments. When poems are less like movies and more like photographs, when they force us to look at a single scene rather than telling us the whole story, it gives us space to really sit with an idea, to grapple with it, to process it. This poem does that as well as any I can think of. Through this “small” narrative moment, something very “big” is communicated– about the USA, about the immigrant/refugee experience, about dignity, respect, and rage.
For me, that really gets at what poetry is, on a fundamental level. Sometimes, by just telling a story, or painting a picture of a specific memory, you can say more than some 10,000 word think-piece or essay.
And Bao Phi is so good at that. I make no secret of the fact that Bao is one of my favorite poets of all time, and that his two books, “Sông I Sing” and “Thousand Star Hotel,” are always in my top five list of book recommendations when people ask me what poetry they should read. This poem is a great introduction to his work, which so elegantly weaves together powerful personal narrative, unblinking ferocity, and a whole lot of heart.
Find more from Bao Phi here.
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While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including Guante’s own book, as well as titles by Danez Smith, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Stevie Edwards, Claire Schwartz, & our newest release from Guante!
