“I Love Eating Pussy”. Shakespeare said. Donne said it. You said it. I said it. But we still didn’t expect any of these guys to say it. Why? Because poets don’t talk like that. You’d have to be a line short of a stanza to think they did. But maybe we’re all a line short sometimes, because this is the way people speak and this DVD is the gods honest proof of it. Never thought poetry had anything to do with your life? Think again.
The ILL List is a world-class literary boxing match organized by college professor and local poet Sam Pierstorff in Modesto, California. Here, poets from every walk in life and from every culture slam each other in a three round poetry-boxing match using random judges, time limits, no props and fresh, original content. More like a free styling rap contests in delivery than poetry recitals and all the better for it. Cheering, yelling, booing, hissing, whistling, and heckling are not only tolerated, they’re encouraged. So if you were thinking this release was going to commemorate an evening of expresso drinking, beret-wearing beatniks you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find all manner of behaviour, and all manner of beats, and all manner of issues: from bastard men, brand whores, homophobes, and good microphones to the angel of death and cunilingus. And what’s more, they use expressions like ‘Dude’ in the same context.
Welcome to slam-poetry. It’s the closest thing you’ll get to hip-hop without the music.