Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School by Hanif Abdurraqib

Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School Reviews

• 
  Dave Schaafsma

  This is a book especially for but not limited to high school English/poetry teachers:
  
  I am so proud to be able to say I have several personal connections with Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School, published by Penguin Random House (I know, quite a score for this kind of thing, which you wouldn’t think would attract a major publisher, even a teen imprint, but what a model for other schools and cities!!). I live in Oak Park and have worked with the legendary Pete Kahn’s Spoken Word Club off and on for a few years, and count him as a friend.
  
  This is the group that is featured in the documentary Louder Than a Bomb (LTAB), a an exciting film you need to see especially if you teach middle and high school spoken word/poetry. LTAB began here in Chicago with the inspiration of PK and others at Young Chicago Authors, and they get huge crowds for poetry, yes, they do. The model has traveled to New York and NOLA and London, and so many other cities. Raucous events, not yr gramma’s church-like poetry readings (though audiences are encouraged to “respect the mic” and be quiet and honor the courage of the person performing, too). The foundation for LTAB itself may have happened in the Green Mill working class poetry slam events begun in the late eighties by the likes of Marc Smith and Patricia Smith (herself the queen of slam, a multiple national winner).
  
  One reason you might like to read this book is because, as PK makes clear, the OPRFHS approach is the”page before stage” approach, which is to say it is about privileging the development and honing of the written word over performance, over spectacle, though the group reading performances are fun (I have gone to the showcases for years, and I am proud to say my own daughter L. just performed in one!). The point is that the writing is good, and this is not--most of it--teen poetry, but the continuing process of writing by OPRFHS SWC grads.
  
  I am proud to name drop the names of many people I know, including editor Dan Sulliban, Will walden, Adam Levin, Langston Kerman (now a Comedy Central-level comedian), Iman Shumpert (NBA Basketball star, yes he was in the OPRF SW club! I don’t know him, actually, but I heard him perform in 2008), Nova Venerable (who was my neighbor!). Isaiah Makar, David Gilmer, and so many over the years.
  
  Here’s the online book launch I attended (one hour) which you could sample:
  
  
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCJPa...
  
  An interview with Pete Kahn:
  
  
  https://diversebooks.org/qa-with-pete...
  
• 
  Andy

  Thank you to Penguin Teen & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
  
  I remember when I took a high school field trip to OPRF to talk to the current members of Louder than a Bomb. It was an inspiring and enlightening experience and while I never joined spoken word, it's an art form I love and that always makes me feel deeply. Respect the Mic was no different. I had chills through most of this collection. These authors know how to evoke emotional imagery in the best ways. You can't read this and not feeling something.
  
  I enjoyed all of the poems in this collection. The way they are sorted into three categories with a the small intro before each section worked so well for me. I loved the reflections from past LTAB members and how spoken word changed their lives. I'm so glad I requested this one, it 100% went over and above my expectations.
  
  CWs (Moderate): Body shaming, bullying, child abuse, death of parent, domestic abuse, fatphobia, grief, mental illness, police brutality, pregnancy, racism, self harm, suicidal thoughts, transphobia/transmisia, violence.
• 
  Marti (Letstalkaboutbooksbaybee)

  This poetry anthology represents the past 20 years of poetry from one Chicago high school in the Oak Park area.
  
  “For Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club, there is one phrase that reigns supreme: Respect the Mic. It's been the club's call to arms since its inception in 1999. As its founder Peter Kahn says, "It's a call of pride and history and tradition and hope." “
  
  This collection of poetry and prose uplifts voices from the community from students and alumni of years past.
  
  I thought this collection was great! I loved all the different poetry styles and rhythms that each poet had to offer. I think the stories told within these short pages were enlightening and entertaining as much as they were heartbreaking and wholesome.
  
  
  Thanks to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
• 
  Summer Behling

  Beautiful writing + curation
• 
  Marie Grace

  Respect the Mic is a powerful poetry anthology that touches on racism, familial relationships, grief, identity and a variety of other topics. These poems, written by the students and alumni of the Oak Park River Forest High School Spoken Word Club in Chicago, are relatable, heartbreaking and inspiring. Respect the Mic offers a glimpse into the lives of gifted writers from different walks of life, who were all brought together by one thing: the power of poetry.
• 
  Katie Lawrence

  Read to page 88 or so of this incredibly powerful poetry collection. I may come back to finish the poems at some point, but wanted to read enough that I could share it with high school students. I'm not sure teens will be interested in the prose aspects of this book talking about the slam poetry club, but they were definitely interested in the poems.
• 
  Sarah Krajewski

  A fabulous collection of poetry from teen poets that participate in a Spoken Word Club at Chicago’s Oak Park and River Forest High School. I shared many of these gorgeous, powerful poems with my seniors this year—performances as well—and they really enjoyed hearing from poets their own age. As one of my students said, “If they can write like this, so can I.” And they did.
• 
  A.J

  Problem. I will read anything with Hanif Abdurraqib’s name on it even if it’s something he didn’t write more then two pages for. The poems weren’t bad. I’m fact some of them were really good. And I deeply appreciate where this came from, the community of poetry, all these generations of students coming back to their roots to create something. But this wasn’t for me most of the time.
• 
  Megan Mann

  I thought this was absolutely fantastic. This all happens not far from me, so it’s so neat to be reading about places that I’m familiar with. And some of these were so incredibly profound and resonated so deeply with me. “The butcher taught me how to high school” slammed me against a wall and took me right back to high school. It was incredible. And I loved Iman Shumpert being in there!
• 
  Marina

  I am impressed by the talent behind these writers. I was able to listen to this through a library app, which added to the poetic flow that I love so much. The subject matters were deep and well thought out. I could tell that each piece of work was done from the heart.
• 
  Mya

  This is sweet. Budding poets or fans of spoken word will enjoy this one.
• 
  Grace

  Moving (for all that this collection is quite grounded in reality).
• 
  Jon

  Nice collection of spoken-word poems written by young adults. Great title for high school teachers; I bookmarked a few poems that might speak to my 8th graders.
• 
  Robert

  This book is not JUST a fantastic collection of poems, but it also represents what is possible when students have supportive, uplifting teachers.
• 
  Tara Schaafsma

  I’ve been liking this. A lot of great and provocative poems.
• 
  Anne Bennett

  My review:
  https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/...
• 
  Missy

  Book #27 read in 2022
  
  Powerful and amazing. I was honored to have read the words of these poets.
• 
  M.G.

  This book speaks to the importance of student choice in the K-12 classroom. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed reading these accounts from students in a high school's poetry club.
• 
  Dara

  Respect The Mic is a poetry anthology that celebrates 20 years of the spoken word club at Oak Park River Forest High School. It is made up of poems by alumni and current students in the club. It reminded me of my creative writing classes. Each section contains intros from the editors and the sections include Notes From Here, Coming of Age, Monsters At Home, Welcomes, Farewells, and Odes, and Survival Tactics.⁣ I enjoyed this collection of poetry although the layout wasn’t great on my kindle screen. I imagine it would be great to listen to!