Performed at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
Don’t miss this great poem from Joe Mac, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!
Performed at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
“The answer to any question is not a trump that raises a wall, it’s a trumpet that brings one down.”
Don’t miss this spectacular poem from Junious ‘Jay’ Ward, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
Get Jay’s incredible book, Composition.
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!
Rudy Francisco is one of the most recognizable names in Spoken Word Poetry. At the age of 21, Rudy completed his B.A in Psychology and decided to continue his education by pursuing a M.A in Organizational Studies. As an artist, Rudy Francisco is an amalgamation of social critique, introspection, honesty and humor. He uses personal narratives to discuss the politics of race, class, gender and religion while simultaneously pinpointing and reinforcing the interconnected nature of human existence. Francisco is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Helium (Button Poetry, 2017), I’ll Fly Away (Button Poetry, 2020) and Excuse Me As I Kiss the Sky (Button Poetry, 2023). Rudy was the first spoken word poet to perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and was most recently seen on ABC’s The Bachelorette as the contestant’s poetry coach.
Sean Patrick Mulroy is a writer, actor, visual artist, and musician from the American South, who now lives all over the world. A nationally recognized writer in the US, Sean is a performer, an award winning professor, and earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sean is a 2013 Lambda Literary Fellow, a 2017-2018 Writer-in-Residence at The Kerouac Project in Orlando Florida, and a 2019 Writer in Residence at Villa Sarkia in Sysma, Finland. He is the author of Hated for the Gods (Button Poetry), Winner of the 2020 Button Poetry Prize.
Matt Mason is the Nebraska State Poet and, through the US State Department, has run poetry programs in Botswana, Romania, Nepal and Belarus. Mason is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Nebraska Arts Council. His work can be found in The New York Times, on NPR’s Morning Edition, in American Life in Poetry and more. Mason’s 4th book, At the Corner of Fantasy and Main: Disneyland, Midlife and Churros, was released by The Old Mill Press in 2022.
“In response to those who say I write too many love poems…”
Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s addition: Tess Siegel! Congrats Poet!
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!
Matt Coonan is a poet, emcee & teacher from New York. He holds an MFA in creative writing and literature from Stony Brook University and is a three-time SUNY Oneonta Grand Slam Champion. He is also the recipient of a 2017 Live Mas Scholarship. His poems have been featured on Button Poetry and published in Tinderbox Poetry Journal, The Southampton Review, Inklette, among others.
Matt is also a vocalist in the improvisational jazz band Bright Dog Red. Their fifth studio album, Under the Porch, released May 20th, 2022 from Ropeadope Records.
Performed at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
Don’t miss this powerful poem from Diamond Mason, performing at IWPS 2019 in San Diego, CA
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!
Performed at the Button Studio
“If you love someone you better get on stage and make em feel like the only person in a packed auditorium, like the last scoop of warm peach cobbler.”
Don’t miss this beautiful poem from Darius Simpson, performing at the Button Studio
Get Darius’s incredible book, Never Catch Me.
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!
Performed by Erica Nicole
Don’t miss this incredible poem from Erica Nicole, performing by Erica Nicole
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, or check out our newest release from Usman Hameedi!