Who are you reading online?

I've read the entire article and you need to get a few facts straight - ahem - poetry has been around much longer than a mere 500 years. Also, there ARE poetry radio stations, there are yearly festivals and clubs, events and more, and most of these have been around far longer than a century or 2 also. One more thing on this, there has always been a constant string of poets and poetry - you say that if we were to have rapped earlier (uhm... Shakespeare, did he, didn't he? Or did he write for others to 'rap'? -- oh, and the classic poets that stood center stage to read their works? ---- even more actually, the ancient medieval bards that traveled the land singing their poetry to the tune of a lute? I suppose these meet the definition of poetry but not rap?) - then more poetry would have been written! Do you have any idea how much poetry is written in a year alone? How much unsolicited poetry is submitted to publishers and publications?

I personally have no problem with accepting Rap as a form of poetry - but rap is not the new foundation of poetry - it can be argued that rap has brought poetry in general a resurgence. Then I also consider movements such as the beats, and the 1960s lyricists who wrote spoken poetry. My only concern with rap being validated as a higher art-form is how, as you say, in 30 years, many producers and labels have realized the money in it. The constant and seemingly endless line of identical mainstream artists and tracks is mind numbing and almost instantly rebukes any respect that could otherwise be offered to it. The urban rappers, on the street corner, in the club - on the bus - they're the poets among the sell-out commercially poisoned and corporate phoneys talking about their dicks and guns, 21" rims etc - such gloriously new heights for the English language(!). An added argument for your 'review' is that poetry stems from a musical tradition, so isn't it fitting that in rap, it has found its return? We could argue then whether rap is something new, or a rediscovery of something old - ancient even, bards considered.

I think Bill Maher had a point when he asked how come so much rap was about whose dick is bigger. I've wanted to like rap a lot more than it has let me.

Besides, MY dick is bigger, bitch.

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