Post by meganp112 on May 30, 2013 20:50:39 GMT -5
Taylor Mali is one of the most well-known figures from the slam poetry movement. Interestingly, he was born in New York City, one of the birth places of the slam poetry movement. Since both his parents were writers, his father an unpublished poet and his mother a children’s book author, writing appeared to be in Mali’s blood. However, he did not discover the slam movement until he was in graduate school. Eventually, Mali was able to make a name for himself in the world of slam poetry. For example, he was able to lead his 6 of his national slam poetry teams into the finals in the National Poetry Slam Tournament. He was also able to win the championship of this tournament a record four times. Later on he also published his poems in text form in his two poetry books, What Learning Leaves and The Last Time as We Are.
Although Mali prides himself on being “one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet”, he used to work as a teacher and it heavily influenced his poetry. Mali was a teacher for nine years in various subjects including English, math, history, and SAT preparation. During his teaching career, Mali realized the true value of education and incorporated that into many of his poems. He was so inspired by his love of education that he was prompted to create a twelve year-long “Quest for One Thousand Teachers”. This quest involved spreading awareness about the rewards of being a teacher in order to create 1,000 new teachers. Mali traveled throughout the country inspiring people to become teachers through the use of his passionate poetry. So aside from being an ingenious poet, Mali is also a very admirable man because of the way he was able to take one of his main inspirations and share it with others.
As fellow poet Billy Collins describes, “Not since Taylor Mali, has there been a poet of the likes of Taylor Mali- which is to say he is a man of unique properties”. One of the aspects of Taylor Mali’s poems that make him so unique is the way they allow readers to see aspects of their daily lives in a simple yet bold way. Whether he is asserting that “teachers make a goddamn difference” or simply encouraging people to “be aware of the problem” in society, Mali infuses social commentary into his poems in a way that many readers can relate to.
One of the other aspects of Taylor Mali that makes his poetry relatable to people of all ages is the way all of his poems are vastly different. From joking about teenage girls in “On Girls Lending Pens” to discussing how looks can be deceiving in “The Girl in the Garage”, Mali’s poems cover many different subjects. While some of his poems are lighthearted and funny some of his others tend to be deep and philosophical. So although Mali writes many of his poems on education, he is also able to incorporate a large variety of topics into his different poems.
Aside from being a former teacher, former audio book recorder, and the former voice on all Burger King commercials, this man is one of the great poets of the 21st century. Please welcome to the stage, Taylor Mali.
556 words
Although Mali prides himself on being “one of the few people in the world to have no job other than that of poet”, he used to work as a teacher and it heavily influenced his poetry. Mali was a teacher for nine years in various subjects including English, math, history, and SAT preparation. During his teaching career, Mali realized the true value of education and incorporated that into many of his poems. He was so inspired by his love of education that he was prompted to create a twelve year-long “Quest for One Thousand Teachers”. This quest involved spreading awareness about the rewards of being a teacher in order to create 1,000 new teachers. Mali traveled throughout the country inspiring people to become teachers through the use of his passionate poetry. So aside from being an ingenious poet, Mali is also a very admirable man because of the way he was able to take one of his main inspirations and share it with others.
As fellow poet Billy Collins describes, “Not since Taylor Mali, has there been a poet of the likes of Taylor Mali- which is to say he is a man of unique properties”. One of the aspects of Taylor Mali’s poems that make him so unique is the way they allow readers to see aspects of their daily lives in a simple yet bold way. Whether he is asserting that “teachers make a goddamn difference” or simply encouraging people to “be aware of the problem
One of the other aspects of Taylor Mali that makes his poetry relatable to people of all ages is the way all of his poems are vastly different. From joking about teenage girls in “On Girls Lending Pens” to discussing how looks can be deceiving in “The Girl in the Garage”, Mali’s poems cover many different subjects. While some of his poems are lighthearted and funny some of his others tend to be deep and philosophical. So although Mali writes many of his poems on education, he is also able to incorporate a large variety of topics into his different poems.
Aside from being a former teacher, former audio book recorder, and the former voice on all Burger King commercials, this man is one of the great poets of the 21st century. Please welcome to the stage, Taylor Mali.
556 words