The Inspired Word on Thursday, May 27 - Tara Betts, Dasha Kelly, Rich Villar, Open Mic!

Mike Geffner presents The Inspired Word, featuring Tara Betts, Dasha Kelly, Rich Villar, and a 10-slot open mic!

When: Thursday, May 27

Where: One and One Bar and Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
http://www.oneandoneny.com/
Phone: (212) 598-9126

Time: 7pm (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30pm; ask for Adrian or Marvin)

Cover Charge: $10

Must be 21 years of age or older. Please make sure to bring ID.

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Recently named one of Essence magazine’s 40 favorite poets, Tara Betts is the author of Arc and Hue. She teaches at Rutgers University. She represented Chicago twice at the National Poetry Slam, coached youth who went on to Brave New Voices, and appeared on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam". Her writing has also been dramatized for the stage in several productions, including Steppenwolf Theater's "Words On Fire" and "Fingernails Across the Chalkboard". Her work has been published in Essence, Bum Rush the Page, Gathering Ground and both Spoken Word Revolution anthologies.



Dasha Kelly believes in words. All of them. In her outreach work, Dasha uses words to bolster the confidences of youth, artists, college students, inmates, executives, community leaders and, of course, writers. An accomplished writer herself, Dasha has scripted successes in a number of areas: a published novel, several poetry recordings, a collection of works released with Penmanship Books, feature articles for national magazines such as Upscale and Black Enterprise, online commentaries and blogs, and even collateral copy for regional advertising firms. Dasha performed on the season six premiere of HBO presents Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam; and her one-woman show, Anthems for Grown Folks, is being developed into a traveling production.



Rich Villar's poetry and prose have appeared in the journals MiPoesias: The American Cuban Issue, OCHO 15, Rattapallax, and the first edition of the chapbook series Achiote Seeds (Achiote Press, Spring 2007). He is a co-founder and director of the Acentos Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and publication of Latino/a poetry. He lives and writes en la madre tierra de New Jersey.



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NOTE: One week from the day, Tara and Rich enter into wedded bliss!

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THURSDAYS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! THE INSPIRED WORD HAPPENS EVERY SINGLE THURSDAY FROM NOW ON!

Mike Geffner
Founder/Producer

Marvin Mendlinger
Assistant Director

Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado
MC

Eliel Lucero
DJ

Adrian Wyatt
Open Mic Mistress

Marron Cox
Hostess Extraordinaire