"I hear people talk about the dimming prospects of making a living as a poet, about the small and insular readership we can expect, about how poetry is dead. I think somebody forgot to tell the poets." -Michael Mlekoday

In 2013, the following poems topped 200,000 views on the Button Poetry YouTube: Lily Myers' "Shrinking Women", Neil Hilborn's "OCD" & "Mating Habits of the North American Hipster", Javon Johnson's "cuz he's black", Rachel Rostad's "To JK Rowling, From Cho Chang", Dylan Garity's "Rigged Game" & "Friend Zone", Guante's "Ten Responses to the Phrase 'Man Up' ", and Pages Matam's "Piñata".

VIRAL contains all nine of these poems PLUS new, original work from each author. This anthology of poems and essays is a forceful argument for the continuing cultural relevance of poetry.

Mission

Button Poetry is committed to developing a coherent and effective system of production, distribution, promotion and fundraising for performance poetry.

Vision

We seek to showcase the power and diversity of voices in our community. By encouraging and broadcasting the best and brightest performance poets of today, we hope to broaden poetry's audience, to expand its reach and develop a greater level of cultural appreciation for the art form.

What we actually do

Button produces and distributes poetry media, including: video from local and national events, chapbooks, collaborative audio recordings, scholarship and criticism, and many other products.

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