American Political Poetry in the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Dowdy uncovers and analyzes the primary rhetorical strategies, particularly figures of voice, in American political poetry from the Vietnam War-era to the present. He brings together a unique and diverse collection of poets, including an innovative section on hip hop performance.Embodied Agency Equivocal Agency Migratory Agency Contestatory Urban Agency

American Political Poetry into the Twenty-First Century creates a new kind of discourse. Inclusive in its assessment of much 20th century U.S. poetry, the book reads mainstream poets alongside a number of Latina/o writers, the culture of poetry Michael Dowdy finds much more active politically. His concluding section takes on the issue of whether or not academic study can legitimate hip-hopo, clearly the most political of current poetry forms. This is a truly

helpful book. - Linda Wagner-Martin, Frank Borden Hanes Professor of English

& Comparative Literature, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

MICHAEL DOWDY is an adjunct assistant professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, USA.