Will Giles – “Pokémon Blues: Red Version” (Button Live)

Featuring at Button Poetry Live.

“You only feel safe when your depression
is the strongest thing about you.”

Don’t miss this powerful poem from Will Giles, featuring at Button Poetry Live, September 2016. If you’re in the Twin Cities, don’t miss the next Button Poetry Live show, first Monday of every month in downtown Saint Paul.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Donte Collins – “Grief Puppet” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live

“Don’t tell your Uber driver you’re going to an orgy.”

Don’t miss this stunning poem from Donte Collins, performing at Button Poetry Live, July 2016. If you’re in the Twin Cities, don’t miss the next Button Poetry Live show, first Monday of every month in downtown Saint Paul.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out all our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Chris Moua – “Of the Asian Body” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live

“Your face is the exotic warfare
he has been designed to take and save.”

Don’t miss this great poem from Chris Moua, performing at Button Poetry Live. If you’re in the Twin Cities, don’t miss the live show, every first Monday at 8:00 PM in downtown Saint Paul.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out all our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Melissa Lozada-Oliva – “Tonsils” (Button Live)

Featuring at Button Poetry Live

“And the math teacher keeps comin’ in between them
with the red cup, asking them to leave room for Jesus.”

Don’t miss this excellent poem from Melissa Lozada-Oliva, performing at Button Poetry Live. Check out more from Melissa here and here.

While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out all our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Joseph Capehart – “The First Time I Met An Atheist” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“If the Pope had been available
I would’ve kissed that belly 100 times.”

Don’t miss this hilarious poem from Joseph Capehart, performing at Button Poetry Live. If you’re in the Minnesota area, don’t miss the next live show!
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Mahogany L. Browne – “Redbone Shames the Devil” (Button Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“You can’t tell me that ain’t love.”

Don’t miss this amazing poem from Mahogany L. Browne, performing at Button Poetry Live. You can get Mahogany’s book here.

The next Button Poetry Live show livestreams tonight, September 5th! Check it out here.
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out the rest of our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Spencer Brownstein – “Double Vision” (Button Live)


Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“My eye was fixed, but I still see two of you.”

Don’t miss this great poem from Spencer Brownstein, performing at Button Poetry Live. If you’re in the Twin Cities, make sure to check out our next show!
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Button Poetry Update 7/21/2016

Button Poetry Update 7/21/2016
Hey Button fans!
We’re here to give you an update on some of the exciting stuff that’s been happening in the last few months at Button, as well as what you can look forward to in the near future.

First of all, we’re thrilled to announce that alongside this year’s 5th Annual Button Poetry / Exploding Pinecone Chapbook Contest, we’re launching the first ever Button Poetry video contest, where anyone can submit their own video for a chance to be run by Button! Over the last year, we’ve increasingly realized the limited nature of our film work: we can only really film poets in specific physical spaces where we’re present each year. We intend for this to be the first of many opportunities for people around the world to get on the ever-larger digital stage for poetry. Both contests are now open for submission; you can check out all the details here.
Contest Title Bar 2

Button Poetry Live has been running strong, packing out CAMP Bar in Saint Paul every single month (we had to turn away over 50 people at our last show, so if you’re in the Twin Cities, get your tickets EARLY for the July 29th team send-off show). We’re so thankful to all the supporters who helped fund our Kickstarter Campaign last year to get the matching grant from Knight Foundation. In addition to the amazing poems we’ve been filming and running on the Button channel, we’ve also been livestreaming the show to thousands of viewers each month. Keep an eye out on our social media (or sign up for our mailing list) to stay up to date on the next one!

Speaking of Button Poetry Live, we’ve been churning out new audio albums over at the Button Poetry Bandcamp! Our “Best of Button” series highlights the top poems from YouTube each month, while the “Button Poetry Live” series offers exclusive tracks and live material available only on the album. Check it all out here, and subscribe to get our full back catalog and all new releases, as well as exclusive subscriber-only content.

Finally, in June and July we’re celebrating two major book releases, with Jacqui Germain’s chapbook When the Ghosts Come Ashore released June 7th, and Hanif Willis Abdurraqib’s full-length debut, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much, released earlier this week. Hanif’s book has already reached the #2 spot on the Small Press Distribution bestsellers list (you can find some other familiar titles there as well!) and #1 in new literature on Amazon!
Hanif Title Bar

That’s all for now. We hope you’re enjoying your summer, and we can’t wait to share some more big news with you all soon.
-The Button Team

Greg Harries – “Beasts” (Button Poetry Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live.

“I feel its snarl down my throat, recite the list of rules I use to keep the beast at bay.”

Don’t miss this excellent poem from Greg Harries, performing at Button Poetry Live, May 2016. Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up to date on all these amazing performances.
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.

Rob Mitchell – “To the Black Kid in the Mirror” (Button Poetry Live)

Performing at Button Poetry Live, April 2016.

“You convinced yourself the higher your test scores got,
the lighter your skin would turn.”

Don’t miss this great poem from Rob Mitchell, performing at Button Poetry Live, our monthly live show in Saint Paul. Subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up to date on all these amazing performances.
While you’re here, head over to the Button store to check out our books and merch, including Button t-shirts in both female and unisex cuts, and books and more by many of your favorite Button artists.