Saturday, January 22, 2011

Our Deepest Fear



"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson

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Monday, January 17, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr. - "I Have a Dream" Speech - Complete Text



Source: http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

In 1950's America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color — blacks, Hispanics, Asians — were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert. The 1950's were a turbulent time in America, when racial barriers began to come down due to Supreme Court decisions, like Brown v. Board of Education; and due to an increase in the activism of blacks, fighting for equal rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister, was a driving force in the push for racial equality in the 1950's and the 1960's. In 1963, King and his staff focused on Birmingham, Alabama. They marched and protested non-violently, raising the ire of local officials who sicced water cannon and police dogs on the marchers, whose ranks included teenagers and children. The bad publicity and break-down of business forced the white leaders of Birmingham to concede to some anti-segregation demands.

Thrust into the national spotlight in Birmingham, where he was arrested and jailed, King helped organize a massive march on Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963. His partners in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom included other religious leaders, labor leaders, and black organizers. The assembled masses marched down the Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, heard songs from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and heard speeches by actor Charlton Heston, NAACP president Roy Wilkins, and future U.S. Representative from Georgia John Lewis.

King's appearance was the last of the event; the closing speech was carried live on major television networks. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King evoked the name of Lincoln in his "I Have a Dream" speech, which is credited with mobilizing supporters of desegregation and prompted the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The next year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The following is the exact text of the spoken speech, transcribed from recordings.


I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
Martin Luther King, Jr., delivering his 'I Have a Dream' speech from the steps of Lincoln Memorial. (photo: National Park Service)

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

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Saturday, January 8, 2011

Epic Lineup of Performance Poets - Thursday, Jan. 13, Manhattan, NYC!




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word - One-Year Anniversary All-Star Extravaganza

Patricia Smith
Willie Perdomo
Vanessa Hidary
Oveous
Steve Colman
Ngoma
Ocean Vuong
Nathan P.
Jamaal St. John
Tahani Salah
Jane Ormerod
Thomas Fucaloro
Gemineye
Brian Dyksytra
Simply Rob
Rico Frederick
Jane LeCroy
Erica Miriam Fabri with Robin Andre
Osagyefo
Advocate of Wordz
Eliel Lucero
Sean Patrick Conlon

Place: (Le) Poisson Rouge
Downstairs Gallery Bar
158 Bleecker Street (between Sullivan and Thompson)
Manhattan, New York City

Time: 6-10pm

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The Inspired Word's Crime Fiction Night - Thomas H. Cook & Bruce DeSilva - Jan 20




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features two of today's finest crime fiction writers, Thomas H. Cook(Edgar Allan Poe Award winner) and Bruce DeSilva (widely acclaimed for his recent debut novel Rogue Island).

In addition to Mr. Cook and Mr. DeSilva, there will be a 12-slot open mic (open to all types of artists).

When: Thursday, Jan. 20, 2011

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

Time: 7pm

Cover Charge: $10

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

****

Thomas H. Cook is the author of twenty-five novels and two works of non-fiction. He has been nominated seven times for the EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD in five different categories. His book, THE ChATHAM SCHOOL AFFAIR won the EDGAR for Best Novel in 1996. In addition his works have won the MARTIN BECK AWARD of the Swedish Academy of Detection twice, the only author ever to have done so. His book, RED LEAVES, won the Barry Award and he has been nominated for the Macavity, the Anthony, the Silver Dagger from the British Association of Crime Writers and the Hammett Prize. His short story, "Fatherhood" won the Herodotus Prize. His books have been translated into twenty languages. He lives with his family in Cape Cod and New York City.



Bruce DeSilva worked as a journalist for 40 years, most recently as a senior editor for The Associated Press, before retiring to write crime novels full time. Stories edited by DeSilva have won virtually every major journalism prize including the Polk Award (twice), the Livingston (twice), the ASNE, and the Batten Medal. He also edited two Pulitzer finalists and helped edit a Pulitzer winner. His first novel, "Rogue Island," is being praised by 14 A-list crime writers including Dennis Lehane, Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly and has received rave reviews from The New York Times, The Associated Press, and KIrkus Reviews, to name just a few. The Dallas Morning News said the novel "raises the bar for all books of its kind." The Washington Post called it "as good and true a look at the news game as you'll find this side of "The Front Page." And Publisher's Weekly called its protagonist "a masterpiece of irreverence and street savvy." DeSilva is also a book critic whose reviews have appeared in The New York Times book review section and continue to be published occasioonally by The Associated Press. He and his wife Patricia Smith, an award-winning poet, live in Howell, NJ, with their granddaughter Mikaila and an enormous Bernese Mountain Dog named Brady. For more info, please visit his website http://brucedesilva.com/ and blog: http://brucedesilva.wordpress.com/



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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

NYC Spoken Word Poetry All-Star Extravaganza - Thursday, Jan. 13




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word celebrates its one-year anniversary with a spoken word/poetry event of a lifetime, a lineup to end all lineups, a night you'll remember.

A special event fundraiser for The Inspired Word, featuring 20 of the best performance poets in the NYC area!

Show your love and support! And feel it right back!

When: Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011

Where: (Le) Poisson Rouge (downstairs Gallery Bar)
158 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and Sullivan)
Manhattan, New York City
http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/
Phone: (212) 505-3474

Time: 6:00pm

Cover Charge: $15

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

*****

SCHEDULED PERFORMERS

Patricia Smith



Willie Perdomo



Oveous Maximus



Steve Colman



Nathan P. 




Vanessa Hidary



Ngoma


Rico Frederick


Gemineye



Brian Dysktra



Simply Rob Vassilarakis



Sean Patrick Conlon



Osagyefo


Ocean Vuong



Erica Miriam Fabri with Robin Andre



Jane LeCroy



Thomas Fucaloro



Jane Ormerod



Tahani Salah



Jamaal St. John



Advocate of Wordz (Host/MC)



Eliel Lucero (DJ)


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Sunday, January 2, 2011

WikiLeaks and the Craft of Journalism





As Wikileaks continues to feed media outlets with thousands of classified US diplomatic cables, how serious is the threat by WikiLeaks to other media outlets? And how is WikiLeaks shaping the media industry? Is it the beginning of a new media form?

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Video - Yellow Journalism: Origins and Definition





Yellow journalism - a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers. Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst were American newspaper publishers who used melodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers; a style that became known as yellow journalism.

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Saturday, January 1, 2011

NY Times London Correspondent Sarah Lyall on Newspaper vs. Book Writing






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Quotes of the Day about Writing



"If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me."
- William Shakespeare

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous."
- Robert Benchley

"Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill."
- Edmund Morrison

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."
- Ernest Hemingway

"Only those things are beautiful which are inspired by madness and written by reason."
- Andre Gide

"Poets need not go to Niagara to write about the force of falling water."
- Robert Frost

"Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light."
- Joseph Pulitzer

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Paul Theroux's Advice to Writers





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Novelist John Irving on the Writer's Craft





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The Inspired Word's NYC Open Mic Joint with Special Guest Lythion Music - Jan. 6




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word launches its 2011 season by featuring a night showcasing open mic talent and offering a musical interlude by special guest Lythion Music.


It will also be the debut of poet/former Nuyorican Poets Cafe host Nathan P. as Inspired Word special Guest MC/Host.



There will be 15 available open mic slots, each as long as FIVE minutes, and open to ALL types of artists: poets, spoken word artists, fiction/nonfiction writers, comedians, monologists, singers, actors, playwrights, musicians, ANYTHING.

Just hit us with your best stuff!

*****

When: Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011

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

Time: 7pm

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Lythion Music is the husband and wife duo of James Harrell (composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, engineer) and Ilyana Kadushin (singer, songwriter, producer, performance coach). Together they have been composing and producing music for television, theater, film, studio and live performance for the last ten years. In addition to their music, Ilyana is widely known as the narrator for Stephenie Meyerʼs “Twilight”
series audiobooks.

After scoring music for Nickelodeon Television, they brought forth their talents as artists and activists to produce works for pieces that include:

“Separate, But Equal,” the upcoming documentary they scored and co-produced about the Mississippi photographs of Henry Clay Anderson which will be on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC.

Visit http://www.lythionmusic.com/ to hear their music and sound design.



*****

Mike Geffner
Founder/Producer

Brigitte Viellieu-Davis
Artistic Director/Associate Producer

Marvin Mendlinger
Assistant Director

Nathan P.
MC/Host

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