If you love spoken word and slam poetry, you should check this out. If you don”t know what spoken word has to offer the world of poetry, you really should check this out. If you”ve never heard some of the best in spoken word and slam, then you truly MUST check this out. THIS is the collection of twenty YouTube video clips posted at GotPoetry this morning. I”ve just spent the last forty minutes listening and reliving the work of twenty very different spoken word artists from Kanye West to Steve Connell. Among the highlights, Taylor Mali”s “What Teachers Make”, Marty McConnell”s spoken word piece about passion and causes and being caught between generations, singer/songwriter Ani Difranco without the music and Suheir Hammad”s incredibly moving piece dedicated to her two brothers. I”m not going to tell you any more about it… just go listen. Really. Enjoy.

Then come back here and watch the PBS New Mexico”s piece about the National Poetry Slam.