June Jordan's Poetry for the People

June Jordan is Professor of African American Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Her many books include Haruko/Love Poems, Technical Difficulties, and IWas Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw The Sky.LaurenMuller is a graduate student in the English Department at the University of California at Berkeley. She has taught with June Jordan for four years.

"This celebration of "explorative" poetry as a communal, oral art form is an easy-to-use, timely reference for community college, public libraries and writers' centers." -- Library Journal"June Jordan's Poetry for the People: A RevolutionaryBlueprint does for would-be writers what The Anarchist'sCookbook did for the neophyte bomb-makers. This step-by-step guide . . . explains how to teach, write, critique, perform, advertise, and publish poetry. The book essentially dusts poetry off and puts it in hip, new '90s threads--and shows what a tremendous difference a good teacher can make." -- Washington City Paper". . . a handbook that serves the interests of poetry and community. . . . may this good and useful book find its way into the hands of anyone who cares about poetry and its future." -- Oregonian". . . documents the history of this unique workshop and reading collective of the University of California at Berkeley. . . . this freewheeling guidebook looks at poetry as a populist, highly diverse activity." -- Publishers Weekly"Poetry does matter and does have relevence where it matters, in our homes and in our hearts. Jordan's manual is a step in the right direction towards restoring poetry to the altars of our personal lives. It matters more than ever, especially here and now." -- Joy Harjo"This is a book of life: of energy, passion and hard, hands-on work in the name of poetry and of community. 'Without fear of being happy,' June Jordan, master poet-teacher, and her students offer this practical guide, inspiration and invitation to people and poets everywhere." -- Adrienne Rich"How can students find a voice and the vulnerability and courage to proclaim it to the world we live in? Poetryfor the People looks beyond canonized poets to find specific languages that speak to young Americans. Poetryfor the People gives us guidelines for intelligent criticism and shows us how to rouse activist enthusiasm beyond the classroom." -- Allen Ginsberg"This celebration of "explorative" poetry as a communal, oral art form is an easy-to-use, timely reference for community college, public libraries, and writers' centers." -- Library Journal

• INTRODUCTION Part One TEACHING AND WRITING A NOW! 1 BREED OF POETRY PERSONAL AND POLITICAL POWER IN POETRY Poetry for The People: A Course Description, Claiming and Proclaiming Our Voices, 2 BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF TRUST WITHIN A POETRY WORKSHOP Guidelines For Critiquing A Poem: The Poetry Distiller, The Guidelines in Action, The Workshop Puzzle: Putting It Together 3 REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING Power Tripping. Responsibility. and Authority, Why Teach Poetry? ( What's Power Got To Do With It?), Some Tips for Leading Poetry Workshops, Navigating the Highs and Lows of Teaching, 4 RESCUING THE CANON Reinventing and Making It Relevant Again: Contemporary Poets Talk About the Canon: Adrienne Rich. Joy Haqo. Cornelius Eady, Marilyn Chin. Ntozake Shange, Dan Bellm. Alfred Arteaga, Janice Gould Creating Our Own Canon: In-Your-Face-America Bibliographies, 5 ALLITERATIVE SQUAT THRUSTS A Syllabus and Some Exercises for Writing Poetry, A Sample Syllabus, Modeling Poetic Forms, Developing Cultural Literacies Part Two TAKING POETRY BACK TO THE PEOPLE 6 WORD OF MOUTH Staging a Revolutionary Reading, Getting Our Voices Out There, Preparing for the Big Events ,Hot Shot Poet Readings, Chillin' After ( or Before) the Readings 7 PUBLICITY AND THE MEDIA Let Them Drink Nectar, Getting the Word Out 8 REACHING INWARD AND OUTWARD THROUGH POETRY Writing Poetry with Children, Community Workshops. Performances, and Other Types of Outreach, 9 THROWING IT DOWN (ON PAPER. IN A BOOK) Publishing Our Poetry, Why Publish? From a Stack of Papers to a Book: A Timeline 10 POEMS FROM POETRY FOR THE PEOPLE, 1991-1994, A Fantabulous Collection of Poems, Poetry for the People In a Time of War, Poetry for the People: What Now? The Power of the Word, Poetry in a Time of Genocide, Poetry in a Season of Love CODA Travelin' Shoes ( for June Jordan) How This Blueprint Was Written, Index of Coauthors and Contributors.