In our strikingly elegant new home, (Le) Poisson Rouge, right in the heart of Greenwich Village, we continue our twice-a-month series with another amazing lineup: Mahogany L. Browne, Jason Reynolds, Megan Rickman, and Bonafide Rojas.
*****
In alphabetical order:
Mahogany L. Browne, a Cave Canem Fellow, is the Editor of His Rib: Stories, Poems & Essays by HER & Barbershop Chronicles, and author of several books including her latest book of poems: Destroy Rebuild & Other Reconstructions of the Human Muscle. She has released five LPs including the live album Sheroshima.Mahoganybridges the gap between lyrical poets and literary emcee. Her freelance journalism can befound in magazines Uptown, KING, XXL, The Source, Canada's The Word and UK's MOBO. She also facilitates performance poetry and writing workshops throughout the country, focusing on women empowerment and youth mentoring. She is the owner of PoetCD.Com, an on-line marketing and distribution company for poets and is the host and curator at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.
*****
Jason Reynolds (bio forthcoming)
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Megan Rickman is a nationally touring spoken word artist from Richmond, Va. In her short three years working amongst the Spoken Word world, she has headlined from New York to California and everywhere in between.In 2008 She was selected along with 6 other poets from across the country to compete in the "Last Poet Standing" Invitational, handpicked by Taalam Acey, and is the reigning Grand Slam Champion of Richmond, Va. Currently she is working on her sophomore project as well as teaching poetry workshops to students and creative writing staff across Virginia in her work with The Virginia High School League. She is a contributing columnist for Magazine33.com, and has released "All that I am", her freshman project, as well as a mix tape "All That I Was, All That I'm bout to Be" that will be available for purchase at the Inspired Word Event.
*****
Bonafide Rojas is a poet, musician and author of pelo bueno: a day in the life of a Nuyorican poet (dark souls press, 2006). he is the vocalist/guitarist for the band The Mona Passage, a poetic rock and roll art experiment. He's also the 2002 slam this! champion and has been on two national poetry slam teams, NYC/Union Square 2002 & wicker park 2003. he has appeared in Russell Simmon's "Def Poetry Jam" season 4 and he has been published in the anthologies: bum rush the page: a def poetry jam, rolecall: "a generational anthology of social and political black literature and art, the centro journal, the acentos review, and the calabash journal.
In our strikingly elegant new home, (Le) Poisson Rouge, right in the heart of Greenwich Village, we officially kick off our twice-a-month series with an extraordinary lineup: Shanelle Gabriel, Caits Meissner, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, and B. Yung.
*****
Shanelle Gabriel is a gifted poet and singer. She has toured nationally & internationally. Her animate personality and the distinct sincerity of her voice make her a force in the music and poetry world. She is best known for opening & featuring on HBO's Def Poetry Jam as well as in a promo for the 2007 NFL Draft. She was a member of the 2006 Nuyorican Poets Cafe National Slam Team and a competitor in the 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam Competition. She has performed and worked with artists such as Les Nubians, Erick Sermon, Nas, and others. You can also see her acting skills in Q-Tip's video for "ManWomanBoogie." Shanelle's tenacity has allowed her to become a shining star in any path she treads.
*****
Storyteller Caits Meissner uses an exciting blend of poetry, performance and music to deliver visually rich testaments to the complexities of the human spirit. Caits has moved audiences from street corners to Columbia University, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe to Rikers Island. Winner of the OneWorld Poetry Contest, Caits attended the 2008 inaugural Pan-African Literary Forum in Accra, Ghana where she studied under Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa and other luminaries from the literary African diaspora. In addition to her own self-released work, she has been published in various literary journals and has shared sets with musicians such as Immortal Technique, Grandmaster Caz, Boot Camp Clik and many others.
*****
Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based, Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist who has performed her poetry at over 375 venues worldwide including three seasons on "Russell Simmons Presents HBO Def Poetry." Winner of a 2007 New York Foundation for the Arts Urban Artist Initiative Award, Kelly was listed as one of Idealist in NYC's Top 40 New Yorkers Who Make Positive Social Change in 2008 and AngryAsianMan.com’s “30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30” in 2009. She has shared stages with Mos Def, KRS-One, Sonia Sanchez, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu, Amiri Baraka, and many more. (www.yellowgurl.com)
*****
Though internationally known as the next face of the hip hop world, B. Yung has recently become a familiar face in the American Spoken word community. In the year 2006, he was offered a slot in "LA's Def Poetry Allstar show" by Stan Lathan, and after excepting, began a very successful career at his new found craft.
In 2008, while still keeping a pulse on the local and international Hip Hop community, B. Yung ranked 2nd in the Nation with Urban Word NYC's slamteam at the Brave New Voices National Competition. He also ranked 1st place in Robert Redford Speak Green Competition that was held at the world reknown Kennedy Center in Washington D.C which earned him a chance to perform at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2009, B. Yung got back into the swing of music and joined the Legendary Us3 Band and began traveling Europe on the "Stop, Think, Run" tour. Later his song entitled "Love of my life" (produced by Geoff Wilkinson) premiered on MTV and VH1 Soul and is still running in heavy rotation.
Saul Williams says "[B. Yung] is nothing short of amazing". Natalie Stewart (1/2 of the nationally known R&B Female recording duo Floetry) says "B. Yung delivers passion filled poetry articulating the purpose of prose". Sunni Patterson says "B. Yung is an inspiration to "be."
*****
MC: Sherri Eldin
Date: Friday, Jan. 29, 2010 Time: 7-10pm Location: (Le) Poisson Rouge http://lepoissonrouge.com/ Click here 158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012 Phone: (212) 505-FISH (3474) Cover Charge: $10
Please join us for what promises to be an amazing night of passionate words.
MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER! MAKE SURE TO BRING ID'S!
See you there,
Mike Geffner Founder/Producer/Director, The Inspired Word
Assistant Director: Starvin' Marvin Mendlinger Consultant: Timothy Prolific Jones
Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word - Night of Stars Grand Reopening! An All-Star Extravaganza of Performance Poets & Spoken Word Artists Friday, January 15, 2010 Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm Location: (Le) Poisson Rouge http://lepoissonrouge.com/ Click here 158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012 Phone: (212) 505-FISH (3474) Cover Charge: $8
With a plush, strikingly elegant new home, (Le) Poisson Rouge, smack in the heart of Greenwich Village, we make our grand reopening and Manhattan debut with a phenomenal must-see lineup: Shanelle Gabriel, Bonafide Rojas, Erik Advocate of Wordz Maldonado, Sabrina Gilbert, Onome, Ainsley Burrows, Akua Doku, David Lawton, Timothy Prolific Jones, Boris Zilberman, Howard Treadwell, Molly Kat, Diana Arnold, Rich Story, Yenny Love, Tantra Zawadi, Charlotte Mishell, Ilya Khodosh, Justin Woo, and more!
MCs: Sherri Eldin, Marron Cox, and Yenny Love.
SIX MONTHS IN THE MAKING!
Please join us for this special night. Let's show that poetry and spoken word is alive and well in New York City!
MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BRING ID!
Can't wait to see you all,
Mike Geffner Producer/Director/Founder, The Inspired Word
Upcoming actress and poet Sabrina Gilbert has performed at college conferences, venues and theaters along the east coast and in the Midwest. She continues to push the envelope in her work as she allows her writing to constantly evolve and defy the laws of gravity. In 2008 she became the Grand Slam Champion of Slam Richmond’s 2008 team, making her the first woman to do so! She also helped start Lyric Ave in 2003, which today is the largest poetry show on the east coast (consistently serving an audience of over 800 people). Her debut album "Come Get Me" took her colleagues by storm with it’s electrifying tracks and powerful messages! The album (executive produced by Ainsley Burrwos) has earned rave reviews from several internet radio shows, magazines and has not only touched fans in the U.S. but also those living in Toronto, Paris, London and Germany. Please visit www.burrowsink.com Click here to find out when she’ll be at a venue near you.
Molly Kat is studying Creative Writing at Binghamton University. She has attended SUNY Purchase, WCC, and Cambridge University in England. She has had work published in "Ragazine" and college journals and newspapers. Currently a member of Binghamton University's slam team; Grey City Slam, she attended college Nationals for the first time, and last year went to the regionals on the Bowery Poetry Club's Intercollegiate Slam Team. Although slams have their place, she'd rather just sit around with good poets and listen... she's not big on scoring art with numbers...numbers ruin everything. Right now, all she wants to do is drop out of school and follow Sister Spit around until the tell her to get inside the van.
Ilya Khodosh
David Lawton is a performer and writer, originally from Woburn, Massachusetts. After graduating from the theatre program at Boston University, he was a Guest Artist in the graduate playwrighting classes taught there by Nobel Laureate (in poetry) Derek Walcott. He has appeared as an actor Off-Broadway, had his plays performed Off-Off Broadway, and spent ten years as a featured vocalist with the New York underground band Leisure Class. Mr. Lawton has a poem in the Americana anthology Appleseeds, currently available from Sacred Fools Press. In January 2009 he co-produced and served as a reader for Downtown Does Huncke for His Birthday, a program of stories by his friend and beat godfather Herbert Huncke.
Onome is a writer, vocalist, and performance artist whose work has been published in numerous anthologies, most recently "goodbye Billie Jean: the meaning of Michael Jackson." At sixteen, she started riveting audiences nationwide with her spoken word poetry. Since then, her focus has expanded to singing and songwriting. She contributes her vocals to film scores, live collaborations and albums. Onome's richly textured contralto draws comparisons to Sade, Nina Simone and Cassandra Wilson, yet her lush harmonics, lyrical inventiveness and genre-transcending style put her in a class of her own. Her work focuses on unconventional beauty in unexpected places and the internal landscape of the soul.
Bonafide Rojas is a poet, musician and author of pelo bueno: a day in the life of a Nuyorican poet (dark souls press, 2006). he is the vocalist/guitarist for the band The Mona Passage, a poetic rock and roll art experiment. He's also the 2002 slam this! champion and has been on two national poetry slam teams, NYC/Union Square 2002 & wicker park 2003. he has appeared in Russell Simmon's "Def Poetry Jam" season 4 and he has been published in the anthologies: bum rush the page: a def poetry jam, rolecall: "a generational anthology of social and political black literature and art, the centro journal, the acentos review, and the calabash journal.
Rich Story
Howard Treadwell is a New York native hailing from Mastic and Buffalo, New York. He believes in the beauty of razorblades and roses. A coping Manic-Depressant and survivor of multiple suicide attempts, he finds his reasons for living within the first breath of morning. Howard earned a spot on the Buffalo national slam team for two consecutive years (2006 & 2007), and became the city's Grand Slam Champion in 2006. He also coached the 2008 team. Howard is AMP|Indelible's Co-Editor-in-Chief, and its resident performance coach. He was recently a member of the Spoken Word/Hip-hop group 21poetz. Current literary projects include a chapbook entitled Dreams of Loisaida, and a poetic/prose autobiography entitled Native Blood, Barrio Soul.
Justin Woo
Tantra-zawadi, an award winning - international performance poet from New York and the author of "alifepoeminprogress," has performed her soul-stirring life-poems at venues near and far such as South Africa, London and Germany. Tantra's dedication to raising awareness for HIV/AIDS includes her spoken word video "Scarlet Waters" on the Product(RED) video wall, a PSA for Betah Associates and her latest endeavor, a documentary scheduled to debut on World AIDS Day, 2009. Tantra is a member of Collective Spirits (a melodious venture of like minds creating soulful music/poetry for the dance floor), and a mentor for Girl Child Network Worldwide and is the host/founder of WORDSPACE - A Spoken Word Series. Check out her latest projects on line: The Love Planet EP, EARTHOLOGY and Poetic Stimulus. Visit Tantra on-line @ www.tantrasmasterwordplay.com Click here, www.myspace.com/tantrais Click here and www.facebook.com/tantrazawadi.Click here
Boris Zilberman grew up in New York City and graduated from Hunter College with a double degree in Creative Writing and Psychology. In addition to writing fiction and poetry, Boris performs stand-up comedy and improv in his group Rural Juror when he's not working full time in internet marketing. He recently was one of the stars of "Monolgues," a spoken-word show directed by Def Poet Vanessa Hidary.
Featuring: Heather Aletha, Adam "ShadoKat" Bowser, Mahogany L. Browne, Darian Dauchan, Akua Doku, Adam Falkner, Joanna Hoffman, Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado, and Justin Woo.
Sankofa: "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward."
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spoken-Word-Almanac-Project/37812178129 Click here
Back at home base in Williamsburg Brooklyn with the November installment of the Capicu Poetry Open Mic, featuring some of NYC's most dynamic urban talent and music by DJ Sambarella.
Friday, November 20, 2009 Time: 6:30pm - 11:00pm Location: Notice Lounge Street: 198 Union Avenue City/Town: Brooklyn, NY
Featured Poet: Bonafide Rojas Poet, musician and author of "Pelo Bueno: A Day In The Life Of A Nuyorican Poet" (dark souls press, 2006). Also featured in HBO Def Poetry Jam (2004). Bandleader/vocalist/guitarist for the band The Mona Passage, a collective experiment of puerto rican & dominican musicians who challenge the status quo on what music is Puerto Rican & Dominican.
Featured Artist: Chango Bi A multi-media visual artist and co-founder of the Collective Soul artist collaborative based in New York City
The Capicu Poetry Open Mic Doors Open @ 7 PM Notice Lounge & Cafe 198 Union Avenue (between B'way and Montrose) Williamsburg Brooklyn NY 11211 Right across from the 90th Precinct
$5 Cover 18 & Over Casual But Neat
G Train to Broadway J train to Lorimer This Show Is Sponsored by Futuvision and Platinum Mic Studios
Blue told me about this video: "This poem was inspired from growing up in a poverty stricken neighborhood (Harlem 1970’s). And not knowing that we were poor until my dad joined the service and we began to travel and see how others were living. So one day while living in Tennessee some friends and I were listing to the radio, the DJ had visited New York City and he was making fun of New York City. The DJ had never seen a Bullet Proof Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant. So in the Poem, when I say, ”Bullet Proof Corner Stores never stop to take a breath’ I was basically saying that the stores stay open 24 hours a day. And the poem in its self just tells a story about me growing up in poverty and reminiscing about my younger years… and also laughing about it now...(I come from place where the scent of Roach spray gets me homesick.)."
Carlene told me about this video: "One great memory of this performance was all the love I received from the audience and venue organizers. This was my first performance in New York, my home state, as an established spoken word artist. I left New York pretty much a baby poet. So being on that stage reminded me of all my accomplishments."
Molly told me about this video: "This poem is very hard for me to perform... I've gotten to the point where I can do it without crying, and that has been quite the feat. It's dedicated to Daphne Gottlieb because of her book, called 'Why Things Burn.' I carried that book with me everywhere for months, and it inspired this poem."
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