BUTTON POETRY

Danez Smith - “Twerking as a Radical Form of Healing”

"Bend your knees because you want to, not for any god or dirty nails in your shoulder.”

Danez Smith, Individual Champion of Rustbelt 2013, performing during prelims.

Neil Hilborn - “Mating Habits of the North American Hipster”

"Now she is taking her Macbook, and his Macbook, and her other Macbook, and her book on Macbooks, and arranging them in a circle. The male deems this an acceptable mating habitat, and amidst the Apple products, he mounts her—indifferently!"

The only poem to receive a perfect score at Rustbelt.

Javon Johnson - “cuz he’s black” (NPS 2013)

"Black boys in this country cannot afford to play cops and robbers if we’re always considered the latter. Don’t have the luxury of playing war if we’re already in one."

Performing for Da Poetry Lounge at the 2013 National Poetry Slam. DPL ended up placing 2nd in the tournament.

Neil Hilborn & Renee Schminkey - “One Color” (NPS 2013)

"They didn’t teach me that I could be with someone but not always want them, that being curious about sex doesn’t mean I was asking for it."

Performing for Minneapolis’s SlamMN! at the 2013 National Poetry Slam.

Joyce Lee - “School” "You’re a weekend lover. ‘Cause the loving is always weak on your end." Warning: this poem is hot. Joyce Lee, performing during her feature at the season opener Soap Boxing slam on September 9, 2013.

Neil Hilborn - “The Future” (NPS 2013) ”When I’m down I don’t kill myself because then the sadness would be over, and the sadness is my old paint under the new.” Back by popular demand, Neil Hilborn. Now with 80% less beard.

Alex Dang - “Times I’ve Been Mistaken for a Girl” (NPS 2013) "When my father found out that sometimes I like looking at boys, he told my mother that he lost a son." Performing for Portland, OR at the 2013 National Poetry Slam.

Congratulations to Rachel Wiley for making Upworthy! "I say I am fat. He says No, you’re beautiful. I wonder why I cannot be both.”

Mary Anne Rojas - “Kyle” (CUPSI 2013)

"Sometimes I wish I could wear you on my feet so I could show you how it feels to move forward." Continuing our staff picks highlighting some of their favorite poems that did NOT go viral on the Button YouTube this year. Michael calls this "a gorgeous poem about home, distance, and exile."

Neil Hilborn’s “OCD” just became the first slam performance EVER to top SIX MILLION views on YouTube! We also just added subtitle options in French and Chinese, so if you know people who would be better able to appreciate the poem in those languages, please share!

Patrick Roche - “Siri: A Coping Mechanism”

"Opening voicemails. He does not tell anyone he still has ones from his dead father. He will not delete them. He will not delete dead grandparents’ contact information. He will not delete anything." Awarded Best Persona Poem at CUPSI 2014. Patrick Roche, of Princeton University.

Anna Binkovitz - “Asking For It” (CUPSI 2014) "Stop asking people’s clothing to have sex with you, and start asking people." Performing for Macalester College at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.

Melissa May - “Dear Ursula” (WoWPS 2014) "You, big lady, were the only Disney character who ever looked like me. And while you may not have had the waist line of a princess, I’ll be goddamned if you didn’t have the swagger of a queen." Performing during prelims at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Melissa placed 7th overall in the tournament.

Jesse Parent - “To the Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter” "If you break her heart, I will hear it snap with the ear I pressed against her mother’s belly." From the Coaches Slam at CUPSI 2014. This performance has the longest sustained break for applause we’ve ever seen a poet have to take.

Pages Matam - “Brown Eyed Girl” (CUPSI 2014)

"You be what turned Whitney Houston into a crackhead, but Amy Winehouse into a misunderstood soul." Performing at the Coaches Slam at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.

Ollie Renee Schminkey - “Boobs” (CUPSI 2014) "I tell myself that top surgery is expensive, it’s dangerous, the back aches from binding really aren’t that bad. Besides, I love boobs on other people. Why can’t I just love my own?" Performing for Macalester at the 2014 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.

Megan Falley - “Alibi” (WoWPS 2014)

"Why isn’t there a disease where you do something useful in your sleep? Maybe file my taxes? Caulk the bathtub? Fix this unibrow?" Performing at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam.