Introduction by Zachary Kluckman

          Some would argue that poetry was always meant to be heard, including that of the classic poets whose names we all know—or whose work we discover on dusty shelves in the back of corner bookstores, suddenly thrilled by that unique physical experience that comes with skin meeting aged paper. That same elemental reaction to the music within a poem, to the carefully crafted imagery and unique voice of the artist behind the words, may be the reason why we still love spoken word today. Maybe these artists continue the ancient traditions of oral history keepers and community storytellers. Maybe they simply remind us that poetry, like canvas, is meant to be felt and that the texture of each word is a fingerprint left by the artist, inviting conversation with a touch that reaches us somewhere at once familiar and undiscovered. The spoken word maestros featured here represent the truth of what slam and spoken word have become through the years—a marriage of craft and emotion that will give you goosebumps and then light them like a million small candles in memory of the experience you are about to have. Enjoy these poems, selected especially for Pedestal’s nine-year anniversary issue.