National Poetry Month Special: Download Poetry Magazine (with Audio & Video) for Free!
In celebration of National Poetry Month, we’re offering lots of freebies to help you get through the cruelest month. First and foremost: the April 2015 issue of Poetry is free to download! If you have an iOS device, you can download the issue for free through iTunes. For Android users, download a free PDF of the issue here.
We’re excited to introduce a new audience to digital Poetry. There is nothing like seeing the latest issue of Poetry in your mailbox or at your local bookstore, but we hope you’ll enjoy this new format, too. It not only allows Poetry to be available wherever you go, but also offers new ways of discovering and sharing the poems you love. (Soon, print subscribers will have access to a complimentary digital subscription. Stay tuned!)
The April 2015 issue of Poetry is largely devoted to the work of the BreakBeat poets, whose anthology of the same name will be published this month by Haymarket Books. As the word BreakBeat suggests, these poems often sample, echo, or syncopate musical references—hip-hop in particular, but also house, blues, jazz, and popular music. In honor of the many artists, albums, and songs mentioned throughout the issue, we've put together a playlist that is long enough to get you through your work day. Use the player below, or click here to open in Spotify.
That's not all! In celebration of National Poetry Month, Poetry also presents a special video: Three BreakBeats Poets, with three contributors to our April issue. Fatimah Asghar, Nate Marshall, and Krista Franklin recorded these poems at the Poetry Foundation in March.
Here are the credits:
“McDonald’s"
Written and performed by Fatimah Asghar
“On Caskets"
Written and performed by Nate Marshall
“Manifesto, or Ars Poetica #2”*
Written and performed by Krista Franklin
Video by Hannah Welever
Animation by Joshua Hauth
Music by The Rempis Percussion Quartet
“1.2” Circular Logic
Dave Rempis, alto/tenor/baritone saxophone
Anton Hatwich, bass
Frank Rosaly, drums
Tim Daisy, drums
*“Manifesto, or Ars Poetica #2” is part collage poem that contains lines from poems by Wanda Coleman, Aimé Césaire, Amiri Baraka, Tim Seibles, Erica Jong, Lucille Clifton, & Krista Franklin, album titles, movie titles, song titles, book title, and a quote from Bruce Lee.