Growing Pains: The Good, The Nasty, The Ugly

This thesis includes a collection of Slam and performance poems that examine issues of race, sexuality, religion, family, and life choices; including a critical introduction briefly explaining the oral roots of slam and performance poetry in which I relate the work of contemporary poets such as Alix Olson and Hattie Gossett to my own work, while explaining the effects of reading the work of contemporary poets in anthologies such as ALOUD: Voices of the Nuyorican Café, and how my poetry develops through the language of the poets included in these anthologies