Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
| Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album | |
|---|---|
 Words for Days Vol. 1 by Mad Skillz (pictured) is the most recent recipient | |
| Awarded for | Quality spoken word poetry recordings |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First award | 2023 |
| Currently held by | Mad Skillz – Words for Days Vol. 1 (2026) |
| Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album is a category in the annual Grammy Awards, that was first presented at the 2023 show on February 5, 2023.
Criteria
According to the Recording Academy, this new category "recognizes excellence in spoken word albums specific to the performance of poetry with or without music."[1]
History
Up to and including the 64th Grammy Awards, all spoken word recordings fell under one category, the Best Spoken Word Album. As of 2023, the Spoken Word category has been renamed Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording. This category recognizes excellence in spoken word albums, but no longer includes spoken word poetry. The category was authored by and created due to six years of advocacy within the Recording Academy by poet J. Ivy, who then went on to win the first two year's of the category's existence.[2]
Recipients
| Year | Work | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 [3][4] |
The Poet Who Sat by the Door | J. Ivy |
| Black Men Are Precious | Ethelbert Miller | |
| Call Us What We Carry: Poems | Amanda Gorman | |
| Hiding in Plain View | Malcolm-Jamal Warner | |
| You Will Be Someone's Ancestor. Act Accordingly. | Amir Sulaiman | |
| 2024 [5] |
The Light Inside | J. Ivy |
| A-You're Not Wrong B-They're Not Either: The Fukc-It Pill Revisited | Queen Sheba | |
| For Your Consideration'24 - The Album | Prentice Powell and Shawn William | |
| Grocery Shopping With My Mother | Kevin Powell | |
| When the Poems Do What They Do | Aja Monet | |
| 2025 [6] |
The Heart, The Mind, The Soul | Tank and the Bangas |
| Civil Writes: The South Got Something to Say | Queen Sheba | |
| Concrete & Whiskey Act II Part 1: A Bourbon 30 Series | Omari Hardwick | |
| Good M.U.S.I.C. Universe Sonic Sinema Episode 1: In the Beginning Was the Word | Malik Yusef | |
| The Seven Number Ones | Mad Skillz | |
| 2026 [7][8] |
Words for Days Vol. 1 | Mad Skillz |
| A Hurricane in Heels: Healed people don't act like that — (partially recorded live @City Winery & other places) | Queen Sheba | |
| Black Shaman | Marc Marcel | |
| Pages | Omari Hardwick and Anthony Hamilton | |
| Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Treepeople | Saul Williams, Carlos Niño and Friends | |
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
Artists with multiple wins
- 2 wins
Artists with multiple nominations
|
|
References
- ↑ "New Categories For The 2023 GRAMMYs Announced: Songwriter Of The Year, Best Video Game Soundtrack, Best Song For Social Change & More Changes". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ↑ New Categories For The 2023 GRAMMYs Announced: Songwriter Of The Year, Best Video Game Soundtrack, Best Song For Social Change & More Changes - grammy.com
- ↑ "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ↑ "Chicago poet J. Ivy wins Grammy in category he helped create". www.chicago.suntimes.com. Retrieved Feb 5, 2023.
- ↑ Minsker, Evan (November 10, 2023). "Grammy Nominations 2024: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
- ↑ Monroe, Jazz (2024-11-08). "Grammy Nominations 2025: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
- ↑ Willman, Chris (November 7, 2025). "Grammy Nominations 2026: Kendrick Lamar Leads With Nine as Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and Leon Thomas Land Among Top Nominees". Variety. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
- ↑ "68th Annual GRAMMY Awards | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2026-02-02.