Stand Up Poetry: An Expanded Anthology

by Charles Harper Webb (Editor)

Witty, sexy, gritty, outrageous, emotional, hilarious, honest, courageous. What do these words describe? A growing movement in American literary circles: Stand Up Poetry. Over twenty years ago, Charles Harper Webb discovered a vibrant and invigorating poetry scene in southern California. Featuring some of America's best contemporary poets, this scene, according to Webb, showed insight, imagination, craft, philosophical depth, but most of all, it was funny, and it was fun. Stand Up Poetry: The Poetry of Los Angeles and Beyond (1990) was the result of Webb's enthusiasm for this poetic genre. A decade later, the popularity of performance poetry, poetry slams, and poetry readings is on the rise, and Webb has expanded his anthology to include a greater sampling of poets from across the country. From Charles Bukowski to Billy Collins and Allison Joseph, the poets included in this collection are popular and emerging, classical and experimental, young and old; yet all exhibit the characteristics so important to Stand Up Poetry-humor, performability, accessibility, individuality. Most important, these poems are enjoyable when read silently or aloud, on the page or on the stage. Stand Up P

Genres: Poetry, Anthologies

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the absolute luck to have Charles Webb as a teacher at Cal State Long Beach and he was an excellent guide through this book. It is a goldmine of edgy, funny, witty, sarcastic, smart, absurd, surrealist and downright hilarious poets.

It also makes a great case for taking funny poetry seriously.

[Richard Magahiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a used book shop in Oakland for a buck and am so glad that I did. It features the work of sixty-six poets, many of whom I'd never heard of, but all sharing a kind of transparency, a lack of pretense, a strong desire to communicate, and with some sort of idea bursting to come out. Many of the poems were funny, none of them were of a strictly formal type (though that is not to say they were all free verse), and a lot of them took a pleasure in surprising the reader with an idea or image or choice of words. The anthology pre-dates the idea of poetry slams but it clearly anticipates that style of fierce vernacular poetry. I assume that many of these works were performed at some time, not only presented as words on a page. I think I'll be coming back to this little volume in the future to remember that there is a value in keeping things loose and down to earth equally as much as there can be in exploring things that are obscure and engaging in tricky wordplay.

[Jaylen Frisby]

The book of poetry is very captivating. Each author uses literary devices that only grab a readers attention but captivates a reader to feel what each poet is selling in their poems. The poems range from heart-filled poems that make your heart beat 100 times in one minute. Poems that make you chuckle and laugh and the simplicity of them. The book takes the best poems constructed by stand up poets. The book uses literary devices like completing the most simple ways to relate a reader. Or captivate a reader to continue on reading each and every poem. Each poem breathing a new life into a reader. Each poet is different, each poet use the simple ways of telling a story. A story ranging from a man who wants to travel and see what the "Andersons" are about. He wants to see where is family originated. He uses a life experience and puts it into a simple poem. It shows dark humor, sexiness, and a mutual love for the book. Each poet is special and what each poet wrote is special. All the poems in the book captivate a mind that is willing to expand and look beyond itself. To truthfully understand this book you have to expand your mind and reach a limit where your imagination takes over and your feelings corrupt your thought. The poem of the heart, reach out of your mind to a new height,then connect your feelings to your thought. The heart has nothing but blood flowing in and out of it. It does not feel pleasure like the flesh that can feel water drip off of it on a hot day, or the lungs that can taste a good drink slip through, or like the brain that can expand freely throughout life. The hearts job is the same throughout. Poems like that nake you expand the limits of your brand and make you reach a new height of imagination. Only poems in this book can grab your soul and feelings and take them on a joy ride. Poems that make a reader laugh, turn the page and read it, now it has you in tears. This is the kind of poem book that has been constructed. Its a great read for anyone interested in dark humor, sexiness, fierce writing, great literary technique, and witty poems that captivate a human. It is a great book and I recommend it for everyone.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My absolute favorite of all the anthologies of poetry I have ever read! Fresh, funny, witty, darkly humorous, sharp as a razor's edge. Contemporary poetry, as with music, when done right, is a divine achievement, and one can only marvel at its power. A Must Read for every reader.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as anthologies go, this was pretty outstanding.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-have collection of contemporary poems. Funny, sexy, and profound.

[Tiffany Milakovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of edgy poetry full of personality and livelihood.