In no particular order, here are a bunch of videos of poems that I like to use in workshops and discussions, many of them local (Twin Cities) and most of them from the past few years. They're not necessarily my favorite poems (though there is a lot of overlap), and there are others that I really like that I couldn't find good footage for, but it's a start. Most of them are slam-style poems (three minutes, many similar arcs and structures); nothing against longer-form spoken-word or other styles, but that's what I generally talk about in workshops and classes.
Also, be sure to check out IndieFeed, which houses a huge collection of performance poetry.
Feel free to share this page. I'll probably keep adding to this.
Patricia Smith: Skinhead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uT84IUgLRo
Robbie Q. Telfer: Clowns
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VdxyvaA0NM
Michael Lee: Pass On
http://youtu.be/PZ7-rgfu-2s
Sierra DeMulder: Unrequited Love Poem
http://youtu.be/45R76b6eum0
Sierra DeMulder: Paper Dolls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvxQnT9Luqk&feature=related
Sierra DeMulder: Ms. Dahmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xyKKoL1NSM
Kevin Yang: Sam I Am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O331zUy_tB8
Khary Jackson: Carolina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhttFI6nhIA&feature=related
Khary Jackson: Beneath the Veil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBmdTCk0h8
Khary Jackson: Her Name
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8MqaGuGdWE
Mike Mlekodaj: Star Spangled
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaMKwUCV-Es&feature=related
Mike Mlekodaj: Jesusland
http://vimeo.com/4185897
2009 Denver BNV team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ptwo7S6xqE
Josh Healey: Queer Intifada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JQ86WgrSI4
Buddy Wakefield: Convenience Stores (2 versions)
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=23822794
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKaI8DE8AKs
Andrea Gibson: Letter to a Playground Bully
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vptC-9Nx52c&feature=related
Alvin Lau: Full Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHaw3SRL-3Q&feature=related
Alvin Lau: For the Breakdancers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjqqZyfpeUQ&feature=related
Karen Finneyfrock: The New Colossus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aebVRlwYzfY
Ed Bok Lee: The Secret to Life in America
http://www.mtviggy.com/video/Rant-ed-bok-lee
Neil Hilborn: Carver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9VQDOYdtI
B.Dolan: Still Electric
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQe8zTCCTdM&feature=related
Eric Mata: Anatomy of a Hit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGGNbMJPIjk
Rachel McKibbens: Central Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-k-d-dbWHI
Anis Mojgani: Three Poems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znIXyFh6dsI
Jared Singer: The Last Love Letter from an Entomolygist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3wsSdPzAuQ&feature=related
Taylor Mali: How to Write a Political Poem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDbrsLIU5PY
Muhibb Dyer w/ Kwabena Nixon: They Can’t Break Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnyBNGWAmZU
Nigel Wade: My Backyard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yzuXR1he30
Homeless Ryan K.: For Joseph
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11SIFhg-bag&feature=related
Shane Hawley: Wiley Coyote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx5wXwfjYlA&feature=related
Miles Walser: Nebraska
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6NCWZ3vY1o
And then there are always my poems too, which ain't bad.
