"Reading Allowed," by TAYLOR MALI

[MandieMoustache]

I love technology and everything it does for us as much as the next person, if not more, but nothing will ever be as good as smelling a new book and hearing the pages turn when I read it. I like to write in my books and put sticky notes in it and fold the pages. You can't do that on a Kindle.

[kiaweking]

The message is clear. Reading aloud connects us in a special way.

[TheWowser2011]

Cute ponytail, girlie man.

[HugeGene]

Another great one!

[taniran3]

love this guy and his witty / funny poetry

[thethirdq]

I Really enjoyed the video and the channel. Wanted to say hi and make friends.

[foxinbox258]

Pretty words.

[Somnusrei]

OMG! My gf does this to me too! I love this Taylor Mali.

[besteva]

17 people prefer picture books.

[r3ds0xfan01]

17 people thought the microphone was something else!

[jbeeleevr]

I listen to this with my inner voice screaming "Oh yes Oh Yes OH YESS!" I read and I read some more convinced my children wallowed and thrived in the sound of my voice. It didn't matter what I read. I read magazines and menus, books and billboards and street signs, and once getting on the highway in South Florida, reading "North West Palm Beach, South Miami" and my then 4 year old son asked "Mommy, when are we ever going to go to 'Your Ammy?" I realized the spoken word is truly a joyful thing.

[suzaletto]

who is the woman on stage? She's distracting.

[suzaletto]

who is the woman on stage? She's distracting.

[cohndebra]

Read to your babies!

[locochica1011]

oh my gosh. i just found this guy, but his poems are absolutely amazing

[khayraB]

I like it because it's sneaky.

[BakaPyros]

This poem is an absolute amazing case and point of sex sells. He starts off with such a comedic telling of his sex life, pulling in his audience with humour and sex. Then the poem is just so completely transformed into this beautiful plea for words to be spoken right down to the souls of our children. No matter how many times I hear this poem, it always strikes a chord in me, and I hope that one day, when my children remember how I read to them, that it will strike a chord in them as well.

[kkdivia14]

ur poems are soo good and you where amazing when u came to highland highschool.

[TheAndiePerson]

I'm gonna read to my children when I have them just because of this video. And I'm gonna use the voices too, cause my mom did that with the Harry Potter books.

[HollowTearsOfJoy]

Geh, I read too much as is... I once started skipping school just to get through a good book. Lol...

[KittyKattyYukiLvr]

@HollowTearsOfJoy I'd go to the library ;P

[3bdooTube]

we need words to hold us for the world to behold us.

Language is my virus, get infected. It's gotta be respected its the peaceful disease to wreck the beast when its the least expected.

[stephibobz]

this guy is just wonderful! taylor i love you and your poetry! xxx

[saikogrrl]

I want him to read to me ^^

[Clarionpiano]

Simply poignant, intellectual and utterly pleasing to the ears. :)

[Khristine10]

I love Taylor!

[Lehmann108]

Articulate, poignant, powerful words. Thank you for being brilliant and incredibly funny. It is deeply appreciated. How many people can kick ass with their words? Not many. This man can. Intelligence, how refreshing!

[frostfang1]

@Lehmann108 *groans* i have to say it now...

The Chuck Norris of words.

[araeshkigal]

Ok seriously, I love the message in this poem but who reads their *kid* the Diary of Anne Frank ?

[h3lblad3]

@araeshkigal

I had excerpts from it in my reading books in grade school.

[PurpleAvettFan]

@araeshkigal Why not read to their a kid the Diary of Anne Frank?

[Vinya]

@araeshkigal

I wouldn't read it to a 4 year old, true, but it's definitely something I think an 8 or 9 year old (and certainly above) should be able to handle in some capacity (and I believe family reading shouldn't end just because a child can read too). After all, Anne Frank was a child when she wrote it, and it's subject matter isn't something that can or should be sugar coated. Making them aware of a tragedy like that isn't the same as scarring them for life...they'll probably be fine ;)

[KittyKattyYukiLvr]

@Vinya Yeah, I was nine. I'm fine.

[phoenixelixir]

He must've had wonderful parents.

[vp21ct]

Dear god he has a sexy voice... and I'm straight.

On the more critical side, the shift from 'Audio Erotica' to childrens stories was just a bit jarring, but also rather brilliant, considering what sex can sometimes lead to :P

[Thedarmit]

You have a wonderful way of telling a story........thank you for reading to me! :-)

[omentoo]

I loved that.

[bobobano]

technologies change, books are digitized and compressed into any kind of format you can imagine, but people still love the smell and feel of a book.

[MyLatestEscape]

That was amazing. (and yes, I was read to as a kid)

[KevJJ888]

Can't make out the last 3 words

[zazaodh]

The last line is

"For us to truly know our own souls."

[Ats91Biatch]

Wish my parents read to me when i was a kid, i don't know any fairy tales or fables...and im 19 years old...now i miss all the allusions to these stories when i read

[cronodob]

this inspires me

taylor im glad your here

[BuddenOne]

taylor mali needs to quit poetry and start doing stand up. or do both.

[scootigger]

haha, he can't quit!

But he really is humorous and witty. That's probably because he's a teacher and kids are funny.

[CVphotog2]

We all should write a little rhymed piece on a regular basis and give thanks for something, just as Taylor did. What a difference would be made if every American family spent one hour a week with nothing but the reading of wonderful writers!

[0000infinity0000]

i wish i could live in the same fantasy world as you, lol you have high hopes, and while i would wish for the same, sadly I doubt "every American family", given a million years, ever achieve that.... =(

[CVphotog2]

Every family doesn't have to...how about your family to start??

[solmskyfire]

...no

[greatestnagger]

Thank you.

[wintairqueen]

I love listening to you. I've probably heard every single one of your poems hundreds of times and when I discover one that I have yet to hear, I get all giddy. I love how the words you say just completely sink in and just makes you say..."yeah, that's what we should be doing" or "that's damn right." So in case you haven't noticed I really admire you! =] And you're one of the best role models any one could have.

[goddance721]

I wish my man read to me.

[ResilientMichael]

@goddance721 Have you asked him?

[KatLoveMusic]

I'm a journalism major. And when I hear your words, I feel the need to become an educator, so that I can open other kids' eyes to the beauty of words- the beauty that you so eloquently point out every single time. I honestly admire you more than I could admire any celebrity- Thank you.. Thank you for keeping me on my toes, and reminding me that uncertainty causes progress-- maybe I'm not a journalism major after all.

[ResilientMichael]

@KatLoveMusic ~ Wish you every successs in journey!

[taylorisaguysname]

My actual first name is Luke, but after listening to this guy's amazing work, I started going by my middle name: Taylor.

[JacobWilsonKuschner]

I want to tell him that he made me fall in love with words again. Does anyone now how?

[lyricessence]

You just did. This is his channel.

[musicissimple]

:) Love.

[tekno2600]

If I loved this guy any more I'd be gay ;)

Sorry, Taylor, I only get bromantic for your poetry.

[frenchfry101]

I love you.

[stashasimon]

please keep your homophobic comments to yourself. They aren't funny to anyone but you and your small group of friends. It is honorable to like and know good poetry & has nothing to do with sexual orientation.

[Nostalgiahatesme]

@stashasimon I don't know why people are making homophobic comments. Taylor Mali is married to a woman, and his late first wife was obviously a woman as well. People are just looking for something to complain about.

[nightwolf117610]

@tekno2600 Bromantic. I like that. :D

[brokenjustsayin]

@tekno2600 no ur just gay lol just kidding

[fishSG1]

this is great. He is brilliant.

[BeastlyMushroomNinja]

Taylor Mali is my hero (:

[TPleasent]

Taylor Mali uses the power of "sex" to get people to listen, just as advertising professionals.

Mali has serious messages for our society (and others) in all of his poetry and creatively finds ways to get you to really hear him. Kudos Taylor!

[situpeutparlemoi]

Amazing. Awesome. Such a lovely, natural flow.

It's tragic that some people can't understand him, but if you listen to this about - oh, I don't know - until you get it - you'll find there's a natural flow to it. Yes, he goes from wooing a woman to reading to kids - why do you think that is, huh?

[mikeisagod1115]

lol, this is my fav poem, seriously, even with it's silly start, it's so powerful that I almost cried at the end. thanks taylor mali!!!

[myungsupah]

RANDOM LADY: not a random lady at all. it's slam poetry. goml

[pete272727]

HOW THICK DO WE HAVE TO BE TO GET YOU

[PocketFire]

I dont get it... like reading is eating out a chick and by the end hes like "read to your kids"

[patrifiedy2k]

THink about it, reading out loud is exactly like eating out a chick. You don't like to do it. It is boring as all hell. Eventually your tongue gets tired of moving around so much in all these complicated formations that you need to get a drink of water. And by the end of the night, you still probably haven't "finished" the book. ;)

[MaehemDeDebbil]

Maybe you're doing it wrong. ; )

[patrifiedy2k]

could you teach me how to do it right? ;)

[MaehemDeDebbil]

I imagine I "could"... it's more a question of "would" that is the problem. ; ) you keep tryin tho, hun.

[patrifiedy2k]

you're the type of ignorant person that gives HUMANS a bad name. Dumbass. It was a joke.

[hapolian]

"its quality time," even though it doesn't always fit your most desired interest.

[saxonde68]

Random Lady: I'll sit here and shift a little, pretend the audience won't whisper and giggle, when I one cheek to set free this god awful creeping wedgie. Maybe they can tell, staring, of the discomfort I am bearing, by the sweat rolling weakly down my face, grimaced and wrinkly. I do wish I could just grab it As is the customary habit to reach back, dislodge the damn thing When one thinks that eyes aren't watching.

[salvadorsalvona]

RANDOM LADY;look at him there with his stupid 1980s hair,he can't even learn a single word reading from a script,oh how absurd! why must it be him? why cant it be me! i've got more things to tell you that would fill you with glee! like the poem about the "bold seagull,the bold seagull,such an elegant bird is he,he sits on a rock and he pecks on his cock as he dangles his arse in the sea the sea,as he dangles his arse in the sea.

[caltontongs73]

RANDOM LADY;"it was me that he met in a restaurant,then he took me to some seedy bar,he told me his wife did'nt understand him as he did me in the back of his car.he'd come round after work for a bit of the "other" but after some time started calling me mother,he dressed as a schoolboy and would say he was naughty,and i'd pull down his pants and smack his big hairy "botty"....the years have gone by,now i'm sitting beside him,i'll take him back home soon to slap and chastise him.

[professorweegie]

RANDOM LADY;  what's going on,and why am i here? sitting here smiling,i've come over all queer, there's a gun in my pocket and my trigger fingers twitching,i had a row with my girlfriend,she just would not stop bitching. there's two bullets left and i want to be dead,but after listening to this guy,i think i'll kill him instead...

[Marvil77]

Wow. I'm a teacher, and I've been listening to "What teachers make" all afternoon (what can I say, it's got to be your voice *lol*). But I'm also a parent, and this one touched me even deeper. I can still close my eyes and remember my grandmother's voice as she read to me. If I'm lucky, someday my son or his children will remember me in the same way.

[behinddacurtain]

the poem is good but some teachers real dont teach anymore im in an afternoon school where its very important to have a good teacher and all we have is fuck ups who dont give a shit and are racist they dont want to teach anybody they just dont give a fuck and i think that the teachers who love teaching arent as much as those who just dont give a shit so thats why some ask "what teachers make" so to some i say fuck em to some i say respect

[thebuddhamonkey]

Who's the random lady sitting there?

[professorweegie]

you can hire her from the random lady rental company.

[pingpongaffair]

@professorweegie HAHAHAHA! Good one!!

[TwoTube2]

@professorweegie Ha brilliant.

[multiz007]

she is the mc of the poetry festival this was filmed at. there is another video of talor mali doing his "the the impotence of proof reading" and there is a man sitting there. same concept - mc at the poetry performance.

[MrDelirious]

That man is Billy Collins, by the by.

[nikfun34]

Taylor Mali, you are so incredibly talented!! LOVE YOUR WORK!! Want to see you in person so badly!

[bcg2203]

My heart jump out of my chest when he mentioned one of my most favorite books (A Wrinkle in Time). It reminded me when I read the book in 6th grade; flying through the story til I realized I was near the end, then slowing down too see how long I could make it last, making me wish, it was a never ending story.

[Piasmaffia]

This is fantastic!

[imbabu]

this one touched my heart

[jeffreykay777]

This makes me remember the wonderful moments of quality time I spent reading to my children

"good night moon". Thanks for the focus and sharing. Praise.

[bunnyloving101]

amazing you have a beautiful way of expressing yourself....

[zkylar]

What you say is true about reading to children and reading allowed in general. I think everyone should hear this poem.

[Petrucci158]

He has really grown as a performer since then!

[sprinkleshouse]

This has moved me to tears because it reminds me of how my parents (long gone now) used to read to me when I was a little and how I used to live in story books and novels (and still do). The books of your youth never leave you.  And as the daughter of a teacher I can honestly say.....Taylor, you ROCK!

[tomboyluvsyanni9876]

thou art a master of awesomeness!

[ksAreveN]

Excellent, good sir.

[blath]

Glorious, as always sir.

[ravensmomscorp76]

GREAT poem!

:)

[brianmpei]

Beautiful words! Here's to the Story and the Storytellers! Well done!

[theekaypea]

Awesome, as always. I wish I could write like that.

[scottstephenson]

taylor, seriously... you have inspired me to be a teacher. I am not quite sure in what just yet, but i want to teach.

Thank you for just being you.

Scott Allen Stephenson.

[hellojohnathan]

Very cool.