Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" and W. E. B. Du Bois's "Of the Sorrow Songs" to present-day essays on rap lyrics, queer poetry, folk poetry, and beyond. The writings also acknowledge the major contributions of both the Frankfurt School and the Birmingham School's contributions toward broadening the field of artifacts permissible for serious study with the primarily literary tools of close reading of textual/textural detail. Rethinking notions of poetic experiences and their roles in popular or mass culture, these essays effectively speak to students, academics, poetry enthusiasts, and those interested in social movements, including slammers, academics, workshop leaders, and poetry theorists.

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