The official blog of Mike Geffner's Inspired Word NYC open mic/performance series that happens every week in downtown Manhattan, featuring the best spoken word artists, spoken word poets, singers, musicians, comedians and storytellers. Upcoming open mic event info; pics, words, videos from past open mic shows; current news in the performing arts, open mics, poetry, spoken word, comedy, music, and storytelling.
Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word's Slam Master Jam for Poets, Actors, Spoken Word Artists, and Storytellers. Hosted by 3-time Def Poetry star Gemineye.
This is the second leg of 5 Inspired Word slams in 2011. The winners of the first 4 slams will be eligible to face off in the championship finals in Dec. for $500 in total prize money: $300 (+ paid 2012 feature spot) for 1st place. $100 for 2nd. $75 for 3rd. $25 for 4th.
Time limit escalates from 3 minutes to 4, then to 5, as one advances.
DISCLAIMER: No $$$ prizes awarded for THIS leg of the 5-leg series.
When: Thursday, May 5, 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
Doors open @ 6:30pm, show starts @ 7:30pm.
Cover Charge: $10
NO AGE LIMIT.
*****
20 slots, three rounds:
First round - 20 (3-minute time limit)
Second round - Top 4 (4-minute time limit)
Third round - Top 2 (5-minute time limit)
Guidelines: strict time limit each round (though there's a ten-second grace period; if the person goes over time, points will be deducted from the total score), must be original work, must be a different piece each round (so MAKE SURE you bring THREE pieces).
Of the scores the person receives from five judges, the high and low scores will be dropped and the middle three get added together, giving the person a total score of 0-30. The highest scores in each round advance.
Poet/Musician Tai Allen @ Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word, Thursday, 2011 @ One and One Bar/Restaurant, Nexus Lounge, Manhattan, NYC.
Allen is a poet, singer, musician, designer and multi-talented artist. His influences range from Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin to Norman Connor and Gil Scot-Heron to the Beatles and Post-Modernism. His writing and essays have appeared in Bomb Magazine, Uptown Magazine Online, the NYC Underground (France) and the Daily Challenge. Tai's chapbook, Easy Readin, and companion CD, For Easy Readin, have been featured on BET/CentricTV, Soultracks and Nu-Soul Magazine. He is the National Poetry Awards 2010 Winner for best album and was a nominee for best single.
The Inspired Word is New York City's hottest new spoken word poetry series happening every Thursday night in downtown Manhattan, produced by longtime writer/journalist and former Village Voice columnist Mike Geffner.
Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features Urban Word Executive Director Michael Cirelli and NYC Youth Poet Laureate Justin Long-Moton + 15-slot open mic (open not only to poets and spoken word artists but fiction/nonfiction writers, comedians, monologists, singers, and musicians).
BIOS:
Michael Cirelli was born in Providence, RI in 1975. His newest collection, Everyone Loves The Situation (Penmanship Books, 2011), deconstructs MTV’s hit reality show, Jersey Shore, flipping the cultural zeitgeist on its (gelled and sprayed) head. He is also the author of Vacations on the Black Star Line (Hanging Loose Press, 2010), which was named in About.com’s Poetry Picks “Best Books of 2010,” and Lobster with Ol’ Dirty Bastard (Hanging Loose Press, 2008), which was a NY Times bestseller from an independent press and was featured in the “Debut Poets” issue of Poets & Writers Magazine. His work has appeared in The Best American Poetry, Hanging Loose, Texas Review, World Literature Today and King Magazine, among others. He is the Executive Director of one of the nation’s largest youth literary arts organization, Urban Word NYC, and has authored two poetry curricula, Poetry Jam (Recorded Books, 2010) and Hip-Hop Poetry & the Classics (Milk Mug, 2004). He has also appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and Brave New Voices.
Justin Long-Moton is an ambitious and talented writer/performance poet and activist. Born in Harlem, New York, and now residing in the Bronx, he has quickly become a force to be reckoned with on the spoken word slam scene. He has performed and competed in world renowed venues across the country, including the Apollo Theater, and such local places as New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway and Saban Theater, just to name a few. He's one of the six members of the 2010 Urban Word NYC Slam Team that took top honors at the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam this past summer in Los Angeles, the 2010 Knicks Poetry Slam Champion, and currently serving as New York City's Youth Poet Laureate. Now a 17 year old senior in high school, he finds himself searching for what it really means to be a man - believing all life has a purpose. He prides himself for his courage and inability to bow down to life’s obstacles. Next fall Justin intends on pursuing a degree in both journalism and English education.
*****
When: Thursday, April 28, 2011
Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
Phone: (212) 598-9126
Time: 6:30pm
Cover Charge: $10
NO AGE LIMIT!
*****
This event was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
Legendary performance poet jessica Care moore @ Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 @ One and One Bar/Restaurant, Nexus Lounge, Manhattan, NYC.
jessica Care moore is an internationally renowned poet, playwright, actor, activist, producer and CEO of Moore Black Press. She is the author of The Words Don't Fit in My Mouth, The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto, God is Not an American, and a forthcoming book of essays, Literary Apartheid. She has performed her poems and solo theater shows all over the United States, in South Africa, and across Europe. From her Broadway performances at Carnegie Hall, or Harlem's Apollo Theater, London's Institute of Contemporary Arts, to New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, moore believes poems belong everywhere and to everyone.
Her new show, The Missing Project:Pieces of the D is an international storytelling live art music show that features an experimental jazz orchestra and the work of graffiti artist Antonio "Shades" Agee.Her debut rock album, Black Tea will be out when it's finished! moore continues to push the boundaries of genre, with her first conceptual art installation, NANOC: I Sing The Body Electric, opening at Dell Pryor Gallery in 2011. She lives in Detroit, where she is completing her memoir, Love is Not the Enemy, and raising the 4-year old love of her life, King Thomas.
This event was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc. with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
The Inspired Word is New York City's hottest new spoken word poetry series happening every Thursday night in downtown Manhattan, produced by longtime writer/journalist and former Village Voice columnist Mike Geffner.
In honor of Earth Day,The Inspired Word presents GreenPiece: Eco-Activism in Poetry, Music, & Prose - a star-studded fundraiser for the non-profit organization Rock 'n Renew http://www.rocknrenew.com/10/
Hosted by the wonderful actor/comedian/TV personality John Fugelsang.
Featured artists: Performance poet/multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Ngoma Hill, musician Roderick Romero, Jarabe del Sol of The ReadNex Poetry Squad, the Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble, singer/songwriter/ pianist Justin Baron, actress/performance poet/climate change activist/filmmaker Shetal Shah, husband-and-wife duo Lythion Music, The Glazzies band, musician Sean Lynam, and spoken word poets Caroline Rothstein, Ceez Liive, Nathan P., Alysia Harris, Natalagé Davis, and Jonathan Walton!
100% of the proceeds go to Rock 'n Renew.
Rock n' Renew will be providing green door prizes and green trivia winner give-a-ways throughout the night.
*****
Did you know that each gallon of fuel releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air?
Did you know that approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each Year ends up in the ocean?
Did you know that the amount of wood and paper we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years?
Did you know that over 40% of all tropical forests have been destroyed and another acre is lost each second.
Did you know that more than 100 million Americans live in urban areas where the air is officially classified by the EPA as unsafe to breathe?
Please join us on this special night and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
*****
When: Thursday, April 21, 2011
Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
Phone: (212) 598-9126
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Minimum Donation: $20 (though you're certainly welcome to give more).
*****
HOST BIO:
John Fugelsang is an actor, comedian, writer and television host. He’s performed at The US comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal. Film and TV credits include Coyote Ugly, Somewhere in the City, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Providence, Becker, Lifetime’s “Two Cups of Joe,” America’s Funniest Home Videos, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, McEnroe and Bullseye for CNBC, Beyond Belief, Watercooler for TVGN, American Classic for VH1 UK, Paul McCartney’s Live Town Hall and George Harrison: The Last Performance for VH1. Other TV credits include over 20 appearances on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher and regular stints on HLN’s The Joy Behar Show.
He received the award for “Outstanding NYC Monologist” at Lincoln Center from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs. He’s been a contributor to CNN, FOX News, CNBC, NPR, Air America Radio, and FOX News radio, and has performed for American Troops on their humanitarian mission to Haiti.
He is currently developing a screenplay about Black Site Prisons for Inventure Films, writing a book about Christianity and Politics, and recently wrapped roles in the independent features “The Whole Truth” opposite Elizabeth Rohm and Eric Roberts and "Price Check" opposite Parker Posey. He is the son of an ex-Nun and a former Franciscan Brother/history teacher. He lives in New York City and Hollywood, CA.
ARTISTS BIOS:
Ngoma is a performance poet, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and paradigm shifter, who for over 40 years has used culture as a tool to raise sociopolitical and spiritual consciousness through work that encourages critical thought. For further info, please visit http://www.ngomazworld.com/
The Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble will perform an excerpt from SAME RIVER, their interview-based piece about water issues and the controversial natural gas extraction process known as “fracking”. Strike Anywhere is comprised of world-class jazz musicians, modern dancers, and actors. Performers collaborate through an ensemble-based, improvisational process to create politically-charged, original works that address socially-relevant issues.
Roderick Romero’s latest work is a collaboration with musician Laurie Anderson for the Novartis Campus in Basel Switzerland. He has designed and built over 30 Treehouses on four continents. Clients include- Sting, Donna Karan, Julianne Moore, and Val Kilmer. His band (with wife Anisa), Sky Cries Mary, has recorded over 12 albums and has toured throughout North America and Asia. In 1994 Sky Cries Mary was the first band to broadcast live on the World Wide Web. They then went on to play the Conan Obrian Show and the John Stewart Show.
Stepping to the stage in his trademark suit, cufflinks and fedora style hat, poet Nathan P. became the poster child of style, grace and class on the slam circuit in early 2000. With a voice that resonates bass, the sound of his words were as captivating as his words themselves. This talent and stage presence enabled him to become a Nuyorican Grand Slam Finalist in his very first year on the circuit. He ultimately became the host at the Nuyorican Poets Café for seven years. He's been in two off-Broadway productions: “Be Beautiful” and “An Evolution in Reinvention,” produced two books of poetry: “Madness” and “The Colors of My Mind," appeared on numerous CD’s, most notably his solo project “Chalklines on Black Asphalt." He is Special Guest Host of The Inspired Word and starting in June the Host of The Inspired Word's Tuesday Night Open Mic Joint.
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, which placed second at 2010’s National Poetry Slam. A member of the Intangible Collective, she has been performing and competing around the United States for a decade.
Shetal Shah is an actress, performance poet, filmmaker and educator. As a P3 poet-activist for seven years (poeticpeoplepower.com), guest poet at Lincoln Center’s La Casita festival and avid fan of Mexican food, she’s thrilled to be part of GreenPiece! Shetal currently works on climate change issues with the Bolivian Embassy and Nord Sud XXI.
Alysia Harris is a wordsmith. She is a student at Yale University pursuing a PhD in linguistics, and a two-time national spoken word champion. She also appeared on the HBO Documentary Russell Simmons Presents:Brave New Voices. She has performed with Saul Williams, Buddy Wakefield, Anis Mojgani, Rita Dove, and Elizabeth Alexander.
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. Other projects include: scoring music for Nickelodeon Television, Becoming Natasha, True Body Project, Being Bold, The Deep, God Loves Me Best, and 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. Lythion has performed for Wildlife Federation benefit raising money for animals affected by gulf oil spill. For more info, please visit http://www.lythionmusic.com/.
Ceez Liive is a recognized teen spoken word artist/poet. She has been featured at the Nuyorican Poet’s Café, Madison Square Garden, The Chicago Theater, The Saban Theatre and several other venues throughout the United States. Ceez won second place in the 2009 Knicks Poetry Slam and is a member of both the 2009 Urban Word Slam team and the 2010 Philadelphia Team. Her show “Ma Heels” premiered in December of 2009 in Dance Theater Workshop and was featured in the 2010 Hip Hop Theater Festival. She’s made appearances on WQHT Hot 97 and Kiss FM in New York City reciting poetry. The New York Times, The Bronx Times and The Daily News have written articles on her. In January of 2011, Ceez’ first feature film “Gun Hill Road” premiered at The Sundance Film Festival. Her talent to weave words and mesh experiences to educate and entertain makes her an up and coming performer to watch.
Singer/songwriter/ pianist Justin Baron is a Pennsylvania native. A blend of soul, rock, jazz, pop, indie and classical define Baron’s music. As a child, he casually accomplished prodigious renditions of Debussy, Bach and Beethoven. Using his uncanny ability to seamlessly fuse different genres, Baron quickly joined the Philadelphia singer-songwriter scene.
Sean Lynam got his start fronting Chicago ska band A Girl Named Craig and, years later, formed alt. rock band, Speak Her Language. Following impressive releases from both bands, Sean has since emerged as multi-talented and well-rounded solo artist. Influences from Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne help in defining a sound that's uniquely his own; Lynam has made appearances on Mancow's Morning Madhouse and Q101 (chicago's #1 Rock station), executed a number of successful Midwestern tours, and opened for bands such as Nas, Motion City Soundtrack, Allister, The Toasters, Matt Nathanson, and Punchline.
Jarabe is a member of The ReadNex Poetry Squad, a group of four artists who perform underground Hip Hop and Spokenword Poetry. Together they have blazed over 300 stages across the world and have also made over a dozen television appearances. As artists, educators and activists, they seek to alleviate ignorance by tackling various issues including, but certainly not limited to, race, gender, politics, history, social injustice, gentrification, poverty and segregation.
Jonathan Walton is a spoken word performer raised in the rural town of Brodnax, Virginia, who attended Columbia University and was mentored in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. The publishing of his second book (The Second Verse) prompted him to go on tour raising money for children in Northern Uganda and soon after he became a member of Poetic People Power and justice and poetry were fused together forever. Since 2006, Jonathan has been a member of World Vision's Speaker's Bureau and an Sponsored artists advocating for children around the corner and around the world. Now as the New York City Urban Project Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship he aims to create catalytic programs that will develop volunteers and students with the character and capacity that can change the world.
Natalagé Davis, a member of the 2010 Urban Word Poetry Team. She has frequently competed locally, and over the summer, participated in the 2010 Brave New Voices Festival in Los Angeles, where her team clenched the title due to her perfect score on her poem "Colors" in the final round, becoming the National Teen Poetry Team Champions. In her poem "Colors" she recreates a plea to an absent mother whose favorite color she has never known. Davis beseeches her mother, who loved “on a grayscale,” to allow Davis to be “the color that makes you smile. There is Technicolor lin- ing the inside of my elbows,” she continued. “So hug me, mom.” She was recently featured on the HBO special presentation, “Brave New Voices 2010,” a seven part series chronicling the teams journey through the festival and the final slam.
Made up of members Peter Landi on lead vocals and guitar, along with Gabe Burford on bass, The Glazzies are a band that tries to make every performance and recording of themselves as energetic and raw as possible. With some of Peter's main influences being Dinosaur Jr., The Vines, and Nirvana, The Glazzies sound as if their music would fit more in the decade that Peter and Gabe were born in. "Remember the name The Glazzies. A& R executives will soon be fighting to sign the band." - Page Six, New York Post
*****
Rock 'n Renew is a non-profit focused on delivering the most effective environmental education possible to students of all ages through partnerships with today’s most popular musicians. Rock 'n Renew utilizes the power of endorsement and interaction with today’s most important musical artists -- a process that delivers mind-opening relevance to this critical subject for students who are often physically and culturally removed from the need to protect and restore the environment. Rock 'n Renew raises money to support both its scholastic programs and three ecology action sites. The ecology action sites exemplify Rock 'n Renew's core mission, while serving as destination learning centers and replicable models for the local action projects that students are encouraged to pursue. Rock 'n Renew works to connect students curriculum to these local community projects in an effort to repair local food systems and ecosystems.
When we reached Genoa, and the sea did not
open, and we were offered homes or exile,
there was little choice. We had survived the hot
summer, the frozen Alps. This was another trial
in our service of God. We left behind the weak
and walked to Pisa. The coastline was bleak,
but we were sure the sea would open elsewhere,
though each day, less sure. It was clear
that God had abandoned Nicholas, so now
we had no leader. We had no homes. We had
to continue—even when we saw how bad
were the ships that Pisa offered. I sat on the prow
as we left port, Palestine far, but in God’s grace.
Of ourselves and our boat remains no trace.
(from Striking Surface, Ashland Press, originally published in Virginia Quarterly Review)
PROBABILITY
And now the world cracks open, like an enormous egg,
but not really, ha ha, nothing really cracks the world open,
not even that meteor that killed the dinosaurs. The world
was fine, still there, even if not quite the world it had been
the day before. Like how Dresden was still there, but not
quite Dresden, or Hiroshima, how it was there, but not quite Hiroshima.
The statistical probability of being a dinosaur
at the moment that the meteor hit is impossible to calculate,
because you would have to know whether any given dinosaur
was as likely to be any other given dinosaur, or whether
any living thing is as likely to be any other living thing—
but no matter what, the chance was tiny. No matter how you do
the math, every single dinosaur was statistically safe from
meteors. But then again, here we are, you and me, as human
and furless as we might have hoped, tiny teeth, opposable
thumbs, and all the birds locked out of our safe, insured
houses.
(from Striking Surface, originally published in American Poetry Review)
New York City poet Jason Schneiderman, who featured at The Inspired Word in Sept. 2010, is the author of Striking Surface, winner of the Richard Snyder prize from Ashland Poetry Press, and Sublimation Point, a Stahlecker Selection from Four Way Books. His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including American Poetry Review, Harvard Review, The Best American Poetry, Grand Street, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, Story Quarterly, and Tin House among other places. 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. He currently directs the Writing Center at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Dismembered (Persona of veteran Lashawn Linton, who assaulted an air force recruiter at the 125th St recruiting office)
“Air force recruiter leaving work was brutally stabbed by a crazed woman in Harlem yesterday.”
Field reporters never tell the whole story
when its complicated, like how blown off
arms and legs of bodies
spray wings of
blood and fly
away
from them.
No ceremoniously folded flag
or factory made purple heart
will make the families of the ones
who didn’t make it back
in even partial living pieces
see honor sitting in their dinner table’s empty chair.
“Lashawn Linton the 28 year old suspect - served in the Air Force, according to her father.”
No reporters asked me what happened.
Why an air force veteran turned on her own,
just mention my weekly therapy appointment,
like half this damn city
don’t rely on therapy
to get by.
These fuckin’ low budget veteran therapy appointments
can’t begin to sop up the dead bodies flooding tsunami-like
in my sleep, or while idle on the subway,
or at the sight of my father cheffing my favorite home-cooked
meal, my face turning some camouflage color of green,
the woman who slept on the bunk below me
comes apart at the stomach, the skin of her torso
splays all open in a smile full of worms,
skin curling back, peeling until there are lips…
“Staff Sgt. Sara Charles, 27, of The Bronx, was walking from the recruiting center on 125th Street
at 1 p.m. when she was approached by Lashawn.”
for a second, all I can hear
is not the bullet curling up in the blanket
of my left thigh’s flesh,
not even her voice’s hoarse dying,
the dulling of it rising over her terror like quicksand
as we realize she will not be
sewn back together in time
to be bunk buddies
another night,
just the slithering sound of moist innards
moving snake-like to escape her body
pierces the thick film of shock
clogging my synaptic passageways,
as I watch her.
“Sources said Linton, who had just left her therapist's office,
apparently didn't like the way Charles looked at her and…”
When I saw her with 2 teenage boys outside that recruiting office,
my gut gurgled at her lips curling outward
sweet talking GI Jo patchwork personas
for those boys to paper doll themselves into,
they could have been
my cousins, my brother,
high school boyfriend
or best friend.
I know what a family is like when the child they
gifted to the war - teaming with life -
comes back a lemon of a body and mind,
the piercing look of devastation that eclipses
a parent’s face when first met
with their veteran son or daughter
“…the two began to exchange words, the suspect then whipped out a knife.
An eye witness said Lashawn then plunged it into the eight-year veteran's chest, stomach and leg.”
they entrusted the love of their lives with,
returning to them only
jalopied remains,
no explanation
will ever be
good enough.
When I saw that recruiter’s finger-nailed grin,
smooth with the talk of patriotism
tongue slithering out intestine-like
exposed for all its grotesqueness,
my belly started kicking out at her as if
wanting to rip itself open,
show her what she will be
responsible for when another
doesn’t come home.
My hand gliding through the air with the
rhythm of post-traumatic hysteria
for all the mothers and fathers who wake up
every morning from nightmares so vividly repulsive,
visions of the constellation of wounds their children became
under the middle eastern sky,
the wind working to make them
a new skin, patching wounds
with sand to stop
the bleeding,
mother nature the
only attendant before
their body’s nightfall.
no matter how pretty this government packages
cheap metal poorly painted purple,
no manufactured honor can fill
the chairs at kitchen tables
for families of the dead.
“Linton was charged with attempted murder.”
*****
Below are pictures from Charan's dazzling featured performance @ The Inspired Word.
Poet/Educator/Performer Charan P. Morris @ Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word
Thursday, Feb. 3 (along with spoken word legend Taalam Acey)
One and One, Nexus Lounge
Manhattan, New York City
Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features 2011 Grammy nominated singer Carolyn Malachi (in from Washington, D.C.) and HBO Def Poetry star Paul Flores (in from San Francisco) + 15-slot open mic (open not only to poets and spoken word artists but fiction/nonfiction writers, comedians, monologists, singers, and musicians). Hosted by 3-time Def Poetry star Gemineye.
BIOS:
Paul S. Flores, one of the most influential Latino performance artists in the country, is a published poet, playwright, novelist, and co-founder of Youth Speaks. Flores was raised in Chula Vista, California near the Mexican border. He moved to San Francisco in 1995 where he co-founded the Latino poetry performance group Los Delicados: Poetas del Sol and recorded the spoken word CD Word Descarga (Calaca Press, 2000). His performance projects have taken him from HBO's Def Poetry to Havana, Cuba, Mexico City, and El Salvador. He is the 2003 PEN Award winning author of the novel Along the Border Lies, and his most recent play REPRESENTA! was directed by Danny Hoch, commissioned by the San Francisco International Arts Festival and presented by the Hip-Hop Theater Festival 2007. Flores holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and teaches Hip-Hop Theater and Spoken Word at the University of San Francisco. He is married with two children and lives in San Francisco.
Songstress, musician, dancer, spoken word artist, philanthropist are just a few titles 2011 Grammy Nominee, Carolyn Malachi holds. She is a Washington DC native whose great grandfather happens to be legendary jazz pianist John Malachi. Her sound is a soothing genre-bending blend of jazz, pop, R&B, and spoken word. Her 2010 release of the “Lions, Fires & Squares” EP is composed of songs regarding relationships, love, and strength which bear influence of her recent tours in South Africa inspired by the South African artist Hip Hop Pantsula. The single “Orion” from the “Lions, Fires, & Squares” EP earned Carolyn a 2011 Grammy Nominee for Best Urban Alternative Performance. For more info on Ms. Malachi, please visit http://www.carolynmalachi.com/
*****
When: Thursday, April 14, 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
HBO Def Poetry star Regie Cabico and Inspired Word outgoing Host/MC Advocate of Wordz combine for a breathless, steamy hot endorsement of The Inspired Word., New York City's hottest new spoken word poetry series. The events happen every Thursday night in downtown Manhattan and are produced by longtime writer/journalist and former Village Voice columnist Mike Geffner.
Poet Samantha Thornhill & Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Valerie June @ Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word, Thursday, March 31, 2011 @ One and One Bar/Restaurant, Nexus Lounge, Manhattan, NYC.
Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features a beautifully diverse and talented lineup of actor/singer/performance poet David Lawton, poet/musician Ayo The Nigerian Nightmare, and actress/spoken word poet/educator LaTonia Phipps. + a 12-slot open mic (open to poets, spoken word artists, fiction/nonfiction writers, comedians, monologists, singers, musicians). Hosted by 3-time Def Poetry star Gemineye.
BIOS:
Ayo The Nigerian Nightmare is a dynamic performance poet/musician living in Brooklyn, NY. How does one wake up from a dream only to witness a nightmare? Perhaps Patrick Stewart known as Professor X from the X-Men movie series had an inkling when he summed up Ayo The Nigerian Nightmare in one simple word: “Great." But that’s just one man’s opinion, especially from someone who is as famed for not only his cinema roles but as an actor in residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. You are better off hearing this Nigerian born, New York City transplant in person, but you are advised to bring your energy. If not, he’s certainly open to sharing his own energy, in its overflowing abundance. He has two albums available on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/3y4bnv8. For more on Ayo, please visit http://www.ayoinmotion.com/
David Lawton is an actor, singer, and performance poet who is the curator/host of The Inspired Word's sister series. the JujoMukti Tea Lounge Spoken Word Sundays. He studied theatre at Boston University, and appeared Off-Broadway in "Aven'U Boys" and "Goose and Tom Tom." For ten years he sang backing vocals with the legendary downtown band Leisure Class. He participated in the inaugural performance at the Yippie Museum Cafe with John Sinclair, Mulligan's Underground WordRock Fest, the first Inspired Word Night of Stars, and as co-host and producer of "Downtown Does Huncke for His Birthday."
LaTonia Phipps. Blactress, spoken word poet and educator, received a MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College and was last seen in "With Aarons Arms Around Me" at The Cherry Lane Theater. In 2010 Phipps debuted with her solo performance project, written and performed by Phipps, titled “Fishing in Brooklyn,” last seen at the highly acclaimed Theater Row, featuring slam poetry, dance, drama and 16 humorous characters. Phipps is currently working on a book of poetry and short stories titled, "My Words Heal." To stay informed on "Fishing'In Brooklyn," or any upcoming projects email fiblatonia@gmail.com.
*****
When: Thursday, April 7, 2011
Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
Phone: (212) 598-9126
