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Poetry Is... started on January 22, 2005 at WMNF Commuunity Radio, 88.5 FM in Tampa Bay, Florida. It is one of the only spoken word radio shows on FM radio in the country.Host, Lizz Straight, came to WMNF on the premise that the spoken word community is so big in the Bay area, that it made no sense for there not to be a spoken word show on air at the area's "community" station.After producing a pilot show, the station came together in their programming meeting and decided that "Poetry Is..." was a go and ever since then the show has been one of the most popular shows on the station.After about it's third week in existanc, it was discovered that the largest listening audience for Poetry Is... was brothers and sisters behind bars. Ever since then, (February 2005) Lizz has dedicated the show to them, and their struggle with the understanding that they are ALL political prisoners; captive in concentration camps on U.S. soil. She started the web site www.bellysong.com (which has since been taken down, due to financial issues, but we'll get it back up soon) for the brothas and sistas to have a place to display their poetry, bring light to their struggles and show their art work and photos.Poetry Is... has allowed poetry to be brought in to Hardee Correctional Institution, Coleman Federal Complex and various other correctional facilities in and around Tampa and its surrounding areas. It has introduced several inmates to spoken word, that would have never thought of poetry as a release method. In Lizz's opinion, that is the greatest accomplishment of the show.Featuring interviews with greats such as Jack McCarthey, Taalam Acey, Amalia Ortiz, legendary hip-hop artist Common, and Keith Rogers, founder and CEO of Black on Black Rhyme, Poetry Is.. is on the forefront of spoken word media.This is DEFNITELY what Poetry Is...!Uhuru!