Poets Patricia Smith & Willie Perdomo Headline The Inspired Word - Thursday, Sept. 30!

Lemon Andersen Headlines @ Mike Geffner's Inspired Word - Thursday, Sept. 23!

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word NYC poetry/spoken word event, featuring the dazzling talents of HBO Def Poetry superstar Lemon Andersen + a 15-slot open mic (open not only to poets and spoken word artists but also comedians, monologists, singers, and musicians).

When: Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010

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 (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

LEMON ANDERSEN is an original cast member of Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. The show took home the Tony Award for “Special Theatrical Event” in 2003 and the Drama Desk nomination for “Unique Theatrical Experience.” Lemon’s film acting credits include The Soloist, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx, as well as Spike Lee’s Miracle At St. Anna, Sucker Free City, She Hate Me, and he appeared opposite Denzel Washington in Inside Man. His theater credits include Slanguage, which was directed by Jo Bonney and premiered at the New York Theater Workshop to rave reviews and sold out shows. He is currently touring County of Kings the show which was produced by Spike Lee and the Culture Project at the Public Theater. The book based on the show is the Grand Prize Winner of the 2010 New York Book Festival. His poetry has been featured on everything from radio spots, to print ads, to the limited edition Absolut Brooklyn bottle and most recently on a viral spot directed by Rik Cordero. A native New Yorker, Lemon was born, raised, and currently resides in Brooklyn.

Mike Geffner's Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word Event - Thursday, Sept. 16!

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word poetry/spoken word event, featuring poets/spoken word/performance artists Luis Bernard, Jason Schneiderman, the Three GoD/Desses + 10-slot open mic.

When: Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010

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 (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Bios:

Born in Spanish Harlem and, as he puts it, "raised in Activism." Luis Bernard is a Residential Mentor and Director of Workshops for the performance poetry group The Babble{0}nianz, which addresses community issues. He created a youth outreach organization called “The In Progress Group," has been a staunch advocate for citywide educational support for the physically challenged, and taught poetry, creative writing, public speaking and has coached participants for the ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) Regional competitions as well as being a committee member. He's been a featured poet at “Soul Food @ Bookies” in Portland Oregon, appeared in “DuEwa M. Frazier’s “Bringing in the New: Poems for the City” at the Nuyorican Poets Café, Vibe Theory in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. He currently lives in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

Jason Schneiderman is the author of Sublimation Point, a Stahlecker Selection from Four Way Books, and Striking Surface, winner of the 2009 Richard Snyder Prize from Ashland Poetry Press. His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including American Poetry Review, The Best American Poetry, Poetry London, Grand Street, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, Story Quarterly, and Tin House. He has received fellowships from Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center, and The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. He was the recipient of the Emily Dickinson Award from the Poetry Society of America in 2004. A graduate of the MFA program at NYU, he is currently completing his doctorate at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

"A Night Of Three GoD/Desses" Presents: Land of Milk, Honey and Rose" featuring MilDred "Dred" Gerestant, Tantra-zawadi and Sokhna Heathyre Mabin in an evening of music, dance/movement, poetry, and gender expression. MilDred Gerestant's work is about BEing FREE to be yourSELF without worrying about if society will accept you or not. Tantra-zawadi describes her work as "the love that I make through my art to the vision of the unseen reality." Soulful and sublime, her poetry explores love in all its forms. Tantra's latest book "Gathered at Her Sky" is available at Lulu and Amazon.com. Sokhna Heathyre Mabin creates from self-reflected observations of longing to be one with nature. A self taught artist, she has performed on stages, beaches, in caves and in sacred gardens all around the world. For more information about the God/desses or to have "A Night of Three God/desses" perform at your event, please contact Mildred Gerestant at www.dredlove.com.

*****

Inspired Blog: http://inspiredwordnyc.blogspot.com/
Inspired Twitter: http://twitter.com/InspiredWordNYC
Inspired YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCInspiredWord
Inspired Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/InspiredWordNYC/

Oveous & Vaimoana Headline @ The Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word Event Sept. 9th!

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word poetry/spoken word event, featuring the amazingly talented, not-be-missed Oveous Maximus!

The fabulous poet/performance artist Vaimoana Litia Makakaufaki Niumeitolu will join Oveous in the lineup, making her second Inspired Word appearance.

And, as always, there will be a 10-slot open mic (open to ANYTHING and with each person getting 3 1/2 minutes).

*****

When: Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010

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

Time: 7pm (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Bios:

Oveous is a recording artist who tricked everyone into believing he was only a poet. He grew up in the Bronx and Washington Heights exposed to the richness of jazz, soul, hip hop, and latin music. An honorary member of the world-famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Oveous shares his own brand of "rap & spokenword". He became a National Poetry slam finalist three years in a row, is a multiple time winner at the Apollo Theater, has performed on the hit series HBO Def Poetry, and has recorded music with grammy award winner Louie Vega. Currently, you can download Oveous' albums ("Future Intentions" & "The Iambic Moment") online for free via his blog site: http://oveous.blogspot.com/



Vaimoana Litia Makakaufaki Niumeitolu is a poet, painter, actor, activist, and educator. She was born in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga; raised in Hawai‘i and Utah; and now lives, creates, and loves in New York City. Moana is the author of a poetry, performance text, and visual art chapbook, tonga provo harlem. She is a co-founding member of the women of color performance troupe, Mahina Movement, which has performed at more than 400 stages. Their CD is Speak the Fire. moana has shared her poetry and painting across the U.S. and in Fiji, Tonga, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa. She has been seen acting at the Metropolitan Opera and sharing her one-woman show, Tongue-in Paint, which had its world premiere in the soloNOVA Arts Festival at Performance Space 122 in NYC. Her other production, A Prayer for Tonga, premiered at Harvard University. She graduated from New York University, earned the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship from Yale University, and attended Columbia University’s M.F.A. Program in Acting.



*****

The Inspired Word Blog: http://inspiredwordnyc.blogspot.com/
The Inspired Word on Twitter: http://twitter.com/InspiredWordNYC
The Inspired Word YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/NYCInspiredWord
The Inspired Word Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/InspiredWordNYC/

Mike Geffner's Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word Event/Thursday, Sept. 2 - Molly Kat, Jamaal St.John, Tahani Salah, Justin Vinokur + open mic

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word poetry/spoken word event, featuring Molly Kat, Jamaal St.John, Tahani Salah, Justin Vinokur + 10-slot open mic.

When: Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010

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 (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Molly Kat has a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from Binghamton University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She attended an international honors poetry program at Cambridge University in England and has had work published in Ragazine, ETC, Pedestal Magazine, The Fib Review, Omega Magazine, Muzzle Magazine, Howling Dog Press, and Muse Pie Press. Molly started the Binghamton University Slam team and recently became a slam master of the PSI certified venue she started in Binghamton. She competed in the Women of the World Poetry slam in Columbus, Ohio as a storm poet. She also started, publishes, produces, and edits a literary publication called “Linus” that has published poets from around the globe. Molly has shared the stage with Ainsely Burrows, John Survivor Blake, Caits Meissner, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Shanelle Gabriel, Tantra Zawadi, Bonafide Rojas, Erik Words Maldonado, Tara Hardy, Tristan Silverman, and many other talented poets.



Jamaal St.John is a 34 year old poet who hails from New Rochelle NY. He is a 6 time Grand Slam Finalist for the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe. He is the 2008 Grand Slam Champion for The Nuyorican and is currently a member of The Nuyorican National Slam Team that just placed second in the nation during The National Poetry Slam held in St.Paul, MN. He is a 5 time winner of the Toronto International Poetry Slam and has performed all over the United States and Canada. He currently resides in West Orange, NJ with his wife of 8 years, Nile. He is also a member of a theatre ensemble known as The Male Ego who have performed extensively across the US. He has 3 CD's to his credit: Enterlightenment,Won't Catch Me Runnin', and Southpaw Stance.



Tahani Salah is a dynamic performer, poet and activist from Brooklyn. She’s a member of the 2007 Nuyorican National Slam Team and a graduate of Columbia University. She has a wide variety of work experience from the United Nations to non-profits like Urban Word NYC, Family International Support Team, and the AAFSC. She has been with Urban Word NYC for the last 8 years and is now the Youth Outreach Coordinator and has a place on the Urban Word Youth Board(word wide). Tahani is a 2006 Urban Word NYC Slam Team Member. She is also working on her collection of poetry available this winter titled *Respect the Mic*. Tahani has performed on a number of world famous stages from the Apollo Theater in NYC to universities in South Africa and Munich. Shehas appeared on the HBO series Def Poetry Jam. As a Muslim Palestinian-American woman, Tahani is committed to bringing light and solutions to problems faced by people from communities and experiences whose voices are silenced.



Justin Vinokur's poetry has been described as being repeatedly punched in the face. He has a degree in English and Creative Writing from Binghamton University, where he started Binghamton's only Artistic Development Group called "Breeding Grounds". Breeding Grounds is an environment aimed at fostering creativity between club members through the exchange of ideas, thoughts, and artistic works. Justin is a two time Binghamton Slam Team member, and was this year's Grand Slam Champion. He Co-hosts the Belmar open mic and poetry slam series with Molly Kat. Justin creates all the beats he uses for his tracks and is an expert on sound and intricate rhyme schemes. Some of his biggest influences are Pharaohe Monch, Tonedeff, John Coltrane, and Nat Turner.

Mike Geffner's The Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word Event/Thursday, Aug. 26 - Jee Leong Koh, Elliott D. Smith, lushTongue + open mic

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word poetry/spoken word event in Manhattan, New York City, featuring poets/spoken word artists/performance artists Jee Leong Koh, lushTongue, Elliott D. Smith + 10-slot open mic.

When: Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010

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 (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Jee Leong Kohis the author of two books of poems "Payday Loans" and "Equal to the Earth" (Bench Press). Born in Singapore, he lives in New York City, and blogs at Song of a Reformed Headhunter (http://jeeleong.blogspot.com/).



lushTongue is a duo of beautiful, sensual, poetic, dynamic, harmonious evolution of consciousness through song. Onome is a writer, vocalist and revelationary who inspires through unconventional beauty in unexpected places. Margaret Moon performs to co-create a society rooted in compassion, respect and love for one another and the earth that sustains us.



Elliott D. Smith, the artist formerly known as Start, lived the first eighteen years of his life in the same house in Louisville, Kentucky. Since then, he has lived in ten places in Oxford, Cincinnati, and Yellow Springs, Ohio, as well as four in Brooklyn, New York. He believes in the power of tattoos and reference books. With a degree in psychology, Elliott conducts research on masculinity, friendships, and identity formation. His writing tackles issues of gender, sexuality, and family, and is greatly influenced by the people, places, and theories he loves.

Mike Geffner's Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word/Thursday, Aug. 19 - Tongo, Simply Rob, Rothstein + open mic!

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word poetry/spoken word event, featuring Caroline Rothstein, Tongo, Roberto "Simply Rob" Vassilarakis + 10-slot open mic.

When: Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010

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 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Caroline Rothstein is a spoken word poet, nonfiction writer, and multimedia journalist. She is a member of the 2010 Nuyorican Poet's Cafe slam team, a member of the Intangible Collective, and a former member and director for the University of Pennsylvania's Excelano Project. Rothstein hosts a widely viewed YouTube blog about eating disorder recovery, and has been published as both a poet and journalist. She has a B.A. in classical studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.



Originally from San Francisco, Tongo leads workshops for people committed to using their creativity against the machine that incarcerates two million Black and Latino people a year. He has been teaching youth inside detention centers across the country for nine years. His work in Rikers Island has been featured in New York Times and Fortune Magazine articles. He taught a class at Columbia University called Youth Voices on Lockdown that brought Columbia students into Rikers Island to facilitates workshops with incarcerated youth. For four years, he produced a monthly show at the Nuyorican called “Write from Wrong” that features survivors of the prison industrial complex.

Activist, Youth Mentor, Role Model, Story Teller, Poem Scriber and Weaver of Dreams. Roberto "Simply Rob" Vassilarakis is a born and raised NY'er of Greek and El Salvadoran descent. Disowned at the age of 17 for being gay, he was forced to leave his mama's boy life behind. Taking to the streets and learning how to fend for himself paved the road for his spoken word journey with concrete inspiration. His life experience led him to dedicate himself to working with the "at risk" inner city youth of NYC focusing on issues of sex/sexual identity and HIV/AIDS prevention and education. He has been blessed to work with many LGBT adolescents, their straight counter parts and those who might be questioning. He is a founding member of El Grito De Poetas, the only all Latino poetry collective in NYC.

Geoff Kagan Trenchard, Erica Miriam Fabri, Sean McNally Headline Aug. 12th Inspired Word NYC Poetry/Spoken Word Event!

Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word NYC poetry/spoken word event, featuring renowned poets/spoken word artists Sean McNally, Geoff Kagan Trenchard, and Erica Miriam Fabri. +10-slot open mic.

When: Thursday, Aug. 12

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

Time: 7pm (open mic sign-up starts at 6:30)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Geoff Kagan Trenchard has performed poetry on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, at universities throughout the United States and in numerous detention facilities. As a mentor for Urban Word NYC, he taught weekly poetry workshops in the foster care center at Bellevue. He has also taught creative writing workshops in Rikers Island with Columbia University’s “Youth Voices on Lockdown” Program and helped run the first ever poetry slam at San Quentin Penitentiary. The National Poetry Slam Anthology, Kitchen Sink Magazine, The Nervous Breakdown, Word Riot, The Worcester Review, November 3rd and 12th Street have published his poems and essays. He is a recipient of a fellowship from the Riggio Writing and Democracy program at the New School and the first ever louderARTS Writing Fellowship. As a member of the performance poetry troupe The Suicide Kings, he has toured internationally with their hip-hop theater piece “In Spite of Everything.” He currently works as a guidance counselor at an alternative high school in Brooklyn.





Erica Miriam Fabri is a poet and performer and the author of "Dialect of a Skirt." She performs solo and as the hybrid music & poetry duo "The Robin & the Lady Poet" with the musician Robin Andre. She teaches writing & performance workshops at various colleges and universities. She lives in the bright, shiny & beautiful land of New York City. For more info, please check out http://www.ericafabri.com/.

Sean McNally’s work has appeared, among other places, in Black Book, Exquisite Corpse, LIT, Open City, Painted Bride Quarterly, Quick Fiction, The Story of My Scab, Unsaid, and Washington Square, as well as in The United States of Poetry anthology and online at Filled with Chocolate Pudding, The Awl, and Wordsmoker. A short musical play, Get to Know Your Presidential Pets, was staged at the 92nd Street Y in 2004. He is currently up to something, and no good will come of it.