Blythe Baird – “Yet Another Rape Poem” (100K Views!)

“I’ve noticed that people only stopped calling me victim and started calling me survivor when I stop talking about it.”

Congratulations to Blythe Baird on topping 100,000 views on this wonderful poem. Watch 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 Hanif Abdurraqib, Olivia Gatwood, Donte Collins, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, Rudy Francisco, Guante, Rachel Wiley, and our newest release from Neil Hilborn!

Blythe Baird – “Skirt Steak Girls” (250K Views!)

“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!

Blythe Baird – “Relapse” (500K Views!)

“I’ve considered myself to be recovered from my eating disorder for three years, but I still write about it in present tense.”

Congratulations to Blythe Baird on topping 500,000 views on this amazing 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 Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre!

Blythe Baird – “When the Fat Girl Gets Skinny” (2 MILLION VIEWS!)

“If you develop an eating disorder when you are already thin to begin with, you go to the hospital. If you develop an eating disorder when you are not thin to begin with, you are a success story.”

Congratulations to Blythe Baird on topping 2 MILLION views on this powerful poem. Watch more videos from Blythe here and here.

Send us your poems! The 2017 Button Poetry Chapbook Contest is now open for submissions. November 15th – January 5th, 2017. Check out the full information and guidelines for the contest 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, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, William Evans, and our newest release from Rudy Francisco!

Best of Button Week 140

“Her fist is balled the way a boy would grip her hair in a kindergarten class or at any age that boys put their name on things.”




Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Blythe Baird, Omar Holmon, and William Evans. Congratulations poets!

Make sure to check out our newest release, Still Can’t Do My Daughter’s Hair, by William Evans!

While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including books by Aziza Barnes, Danez Smith, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and more!

In-Depth Look: Blythe Baird – “Yet Another Rape Poem”

In-Depth Look: Blythe Baird – “Yet Another Rape Poem”

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.

“I’ve noticed that people only stopped calling me victim and started calling me survivor when I stop talking about it.”
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Write-up by Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre

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This is a poem that does a lot of work. On one level, it’s a stirring, important statement about trauma and healing in the context of rape culture. While the national conversation is driven by flashpoints like Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and #MeToo, this poem “zooms in” on sexual assault and its aftermath, telling a deeper, fuller story in a very limited amount of time.

In addition to that, I’m struck by how a line like “watch me build an empire from the ashes of every single thing that tried to destroy me” relates to spoken word not just as an “activity” that people do, but as a specific cultural practice. The idea of “this stage” being one of the only platforms that people (whether they be survivors, members of under-or-misrepresented groups, young people, or anyone who does not naturally have access to attention and representation) have to stand up and speak their truth is a profound lesson on the value of this community, as well as the responsibilities that come with being part of that community.

I hear the title of this poem as a direct rebuke to that ever-present contingent of audience members and online commenters who bemoan (often in gendered and racialized terms) how “political” so much spoken word is. As this poem demonstrates: there’s a reason it’s so “political.” There’s a reason so many survivors choose to tell their stories through poetry. Performing can be therapeutic. But it isn’t *only* therapeutic; it isn’t *only* about the performer. The act of telling our stories, of saying the things that we need to say, is also a radical, community-building endeavor, one that both brings people together… and challenges them.

Find more of Blythe Baird’s work 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 Aziza Barnes, Danez Smith, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and our newest release from William Evans.

Blythe Baird – “The Lesbian Reevaluates” (100K Views!)

“I’m trying to remind myself that redefining my identity does not make me a liar.”

Congratulations to Blythe on topping 100,000 views on this magnificent 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, Sabrina Benaim, Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and our newest release from William Evans!

Best of Button Week 129

“memory taps a gun to your inner skull & demands you bring back the dead”



Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Sabrina Benaim, Donte Collins, and Corbin Louis. Congratulations poets!

Wait no more! Sabrina Benaim’s debut book, Depression & Other Magic Tricks, is now available! Don’t forget to grab a copy of Donte Collins’, Autopsy, as well!

While you’re here on our site, make sure to check out our books and merchandise in the Button Store, including books by Aziza Barnes, Danez Smith, Neil Hilborn, Donte Collins, and our newest release from Sabrina Benaim.

Blythe Baird – “Pocket-Sized Feminism” (500K Views!)

“How am I to forgive myself for doing nothing in the mouth of trauma? Is silence not an act of violence too?”

Congratulations to Blythe on topping 500,000 views on this magnificent poem. Watch more from Blythe here and here.

Want to have your video featured on Button Poetry? Video submissions are open NOW, August 1st – September 15th!



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, and our newest release from Sabrina Benaim!

Best of Button Week 113

“Fuckboy tells me lipstick should only be reserved for special occasions; so now I wear it all the time.”



Don’t miss this week’s Best of Button playlist, featuring the top-viewed recent videos on the Button YouTube Channel. Today’s additions: Joseph Capehart & Blythe Baird. 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 Aziza Barnes, Danez Smith, Neil Hilborn and our new book from Olivia Gatwood!