Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop

Rap may be the most revolutionary development in poetry over the past thirty years, yet its originality is so often hidden in plain sight. Beneath the beat, the bluster, and the hype, the heart of hip hop lies in its lyrics. Book of Rhymes explores America's least understood poets, unpacking their complex craft and according them the respect they deserve as lyricists. Examining the language and techniques of hip hop's most memorable artists, Book of Rhymes argues that a new world of rhythm and rhyme awaits us if we only put aside our preconceptions and approach rap with new ears and new eyes.

Featuring lyrics and wisdom from Melle Mel, William Shakespeare, Run-DMC, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Rakim, Emily Dickinson, Public Enemy, T. S. Eliot, De La Soul, Langston Hughes, A Tribe Called Quest, William Butler Yeats, The Notorious B. I. G., Robert Frost, Tupac, Edward Hirsch, Jay-Z, Derek Walcott, Eminem, Frances Mayes, Kanye West, Ted Kooser, Lil Wayne, and more.