Urban Word's Michael Cirelli & NYC Youth Poet Laureate Justin Long-Moton + Open Mic - Thursday, April 28!

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.