Showing posts with label poets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poets. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Thursday, July 31st! 3Po3try NYC Presents Hot House: A Summer Poetry Extravaganza

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3Po3try NYC Presents Hot House: A Summer Poetry Extravaganza @ Organic Modernism - The Dawning of a New Era in Big Apple Poetry.

Purchase tickets @ http://3po3trynycsummer.eventbrite.com/.

3Po3try NYC is a ground-breaking alliance between three of New York City’s most prominent poetry influences – great weather for MEDIA http://greatweatherformedia.com/(poetry publishing, events, open mics),Poetry Teachers NYC http://www.poetryteachersnyc.com/ (poetry workshops, readings, festivals) and The Inspired Word http://inspiredwordnyc.com/ (poetry open mics, slams, showcases).

Hosted by Aimee Herman.

When: Thursday, July 31

Time: 7-10pm

Where: Organic Modernism
203 North 11th Street
Williamsburg, Brooklyn

General Admission: $10 (you can pay online or at the door)

Donations: Anything you'd like to give

Doors Open at 6:30PM

This event was funded in part by Poets & Writers, Inc., with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

*********

Feature Bios:

A poet, playwright, and musician, Cornelius Eady was born in Rochester, NY, in 1954, where he attended Monroe Community College and Empire State College. He has published seven books of poetry, including Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, which won the 1985 Lamont Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and Brutal Imagination, a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award in poetry. Running Man, a music-theatre piece Eady co-authored with jazz musician Diedre Murray, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama in 1999. In 2002, Eady’s stage adaptation of Brutal Imagination won the Newsday Oppenheimer Award for the best first play written that year by an American Playwright. Eady is also the co-founder and Vice President of Cave Canem Foundation, an organization dedicated to the advancement of young African-American poets. He has taught poetry and literature at Sweet Briar College, The College of William and Mary, SUNY Stonybrook, Sarah Lawrence College, NYU, The New School University, the 92St Y, City College, American University and The University of Notre Dame, where he also directed its Creative Writing Program. In the fall of 2010, he will join the faculty at the University of Missouri-Columbia as Professor of English and the Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing. His band, Rough Magic, can be found @ http://www.corneliuseadyandroughmagic.com/.

Amber Godfrey is an award-winning performer who has worked professionally across Canada and in New York. She has written a short one-woman solo show entitled “DipKid” about her experiences as a Diplomat’s daughter traveling the world. Currently she is exploring ways to expand the format and content of the piece. Theatre credits include: Fires in the Mirror (dir. Jesse Freedman),Mr. Kolpert (Preview of the Arts), RICH (MTYP), Smokescreen (MTYP); And By the Way, Miss...(Theatre Direct - Dora Award), A Streetcar Named Desire (ATF), The Miracle Worker(ATF), The Hobbit (ATF), The Heidi Chronicles (ATC) and The Other Side of the Closet(Montreal Youtheatre). Amber holds a BA in Theatre from Acadia University and is a member of Actors’ Equity.

Najee Omar, a Brooklyn-based writer and performance artist, uses the language of theatre, music, and poetry to create a socially conscious dialogue through interdisciplinary art. He has read and featured at the 2013 Harlem Arts Festival, DUMBO Arts Festival, Performa 13, Au Chat Noir (Paris), and at colleges and universities across the United States. As a teaching artist, he’s turned classrooms into stages by conducting poetry and theatre workshops for inner city teens and high-need youth in schools across the greater New York City and Los Angeles areas. In 2013, he began instructing poetry/creative writing workshops with incarcerated youth on Rikers Island, an initiative that changed the breadth of his work beyond imagination. Najee's mission is to cultivate an audience of deep thinkers and inspire the next generation of change agents, one word at a time.

Anton Yakovlev (http://redwheelbarrowpoets.wordpress.com/anton-yakovlev/) grew up in Moscow, Russia, but moved to the United States in 1996. He studied filmmaking and poetry at Harvard University. Anton lives in Ridgewood, NJ and works as a college textbook editor. His poems have appeared in The Rutherford Red Wheelbarrow and are forthcoming in 823 on High and Instigatorzine.

Nichole Acosta is a multicultural, Brooklyn-based poet heavily influenced by rappers Narubi Selah, Eve, and Missy Elliot, spoken word poets Lemon Andersen, Beau Sia, and Amiri Baraka and comedian Bo Burnham. Though she hated writing as a kid, her English teachers pushed her to love it. She's been performing since the age of 11, and in 2006, she finished in the top 15 out of 500 youth poets in the Urban Word Slam. She's known for both her cutting and positive words, taking on human nature, popular culture, and the challenging nexus between love and relationships. She is the founder/producer of Epic XII, a unique quarterly performance event featuring 12 collaborations between musicians and poets, and is the Director of Community Relations for The Inspired Word. Her first book of poetry, Field of Fireflies, was released in October 2013. Her website can be found @ http://nicholeacosta.wix.com/poetry. Visit Epic XII on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/TheEpic12.

Infinitely curious and hell-bent on painting her world in the brightest colors possible, Audrey Dimola is a born and raised Queens writer/poet/curator, cross-genre collaborator, and ever-intrepid literary explorer. She is the author of "Decisions We Make While We Dream," a poetry and prose collection spanning 2000 to 2012, guerrilla sticker poet of the Compass Project, and founder of reading/live writing series Nature of the Muse. A crusader for Queens culture since her college years, Audrey's local efforts include organizing the first ever Queens Literary Town Hall at Queens Council on the Arts, bringing together the brightest literary lights in her home borough, as well as hosting and curating the nearly 5-hour "MEANWHILE, BACK IN QUEENS…" local program of the Queens Poet Laureate's ETERNiDAY festival at Queens Museum. She devotes her life to the power of artistic expression, aiming always to stay wild and stay grateful. She's a host for The Inspired Word'sWednesday night open mic in Long Island City, Queens. Check out Audrey's website @ http://audreydimola.com/.

Angelo Daniel Giokas is a hybrid painter and aesthetic voyager from Queens, New York. His raw and unique style is the result of his combination of appropriation, collage, mixed media, and visual poetry. He enjoys exploring the synergistic relationships between images, prints, photographs, and magazines, and works in effort to associate artistic process with product, and insight with magical thinking. Though he graduated Cum Laude from Siena College, his artistry and theories were mostly self-taught. His experience studying intermedia art at University of London, Goldsmiths College was the most enriching and inspirational time in his young career. He is an independent artist who has never having been represented by any gallery. Found out more about his interests at www.artbyangelogiokas.com, and follow his work on Instagram @artbyangelogiokas.

A product of the streets of South Philadelphia, Phillip Giambri aka “The Ancient Mariner” obtained his deviant perspective on life listening to Jean Shepherd on WOR radio back in the ‘50s. Fleeing Philly at seventeen, he served in the military, has been an actor, hairstylist, stoner, janitor, writer, drifter, recording engineer, hired hand, poet, traveling salesman, barfly, banker, biker, bronco buster, announcer, mail-order minister, photographer, and “Computer Guru." He arrived in NY City in ’68, joined the Hippie pilgrimage to St. Marks Place, and never left. He’s attended too many schools to mention, studying nearly everything, without ever attaining a degree in anything. He produces and hosts a popular monthly spoken word/poetry event, Rimes of The Ancient Mariner as well as special collaborative events with other artist/performers; most recently the very successful, Barflies & Broken Angels. His website “Ancient Mariner Tales” offers bored web surfers a glimpse into his futile search for self-discovery and meaning. He can be found in downtown NYC, regularly spinning yarns and telling tall tales anywhere that will tolerate him.

The Haiku Guys are a traveling duo of poets who want to write you a haiku, anytime, anywhere. They have turned a hobby of writing #freehaiku for the people they meet on the streets of Brooklyn into a bigger mission of making haiku a thing. Erick Szentmiklosy and Daniel Zaltsman, who met at college orientation and turned from friends to brothers to business partners, want to help people communicate in a more mindful way in their everyday lives and think haiku is the means for attaining this shift in the way we intercourse with people every day. They do this by getting hired to write at parties around the U.S. The more parties they attend, the more people they reach face-to-face and write custom haiku on the spot for. Just give them a topic and they'll channel your vision through them into a typewritten haiku. You go home with a poem. Wheather it's a wedding, festival, company party or just a gathering of friends at home, they want to be there, sharing their story and haiku with you and your guests.

Hala Alyan is a Palestinian-American poet whose work has appeared in several journals, including Copper Nickel, Third Coast, and The Journal. Her first full-length poetry collection, “Atrium,” was published by Three Rooms Press in New York City, and was recently awarded the 2013 Arab American Book Award in Poetry. She resides in Manhattan.

Mary McLaughlin Slechta is the author of Wreckage on a Watery Moon (FootHills) and two chapbooks. She’s recently published in The Understanding Between Foxes and Light, Black Magnolias,Worker’s Write, and Red Savina Review. Her adventure series with Night Owl Press is planned for release in 2014. She is the 2014 guest prose editor for I Let Go of the Stars in My Hand.

John Paul Davis is a curator of Page Meets Stage. He was a founding member of Real Talk Avenue, and is the former editor of Bestiary Magazine and Em Literary. His poems have appeared in MUZZLE, WordRiot, Radius, Rattle, The Four Way Review, The Columbia Poetry Review and others. He currently lives in Brooklyn. His website is www.johnpauldavis.org.

Ellen Stedfeld sketches live performances and special events throughout the city. She also writes and illustrates for comics, picture books, and various narrative forms. Keen to encourage others in the arts, Ellen has taught drawing workshops at Enigma Bookstore, and Carmine Street Comics – where she initiated the Storefront Artists Program. You can find her partaking in open mics including The Inspired Word, offering late-night portraits at Rudar Club, or wherever she is welcomed next. For art and updates, visit http://www.ellesaurarts.com/.

Julia Simoniello is an artist and illustrator from Staten Island, New York. She is currently a BFA Illustration student at the School of Visual Arts. 

Host Bio:
Aimee Herman is a performance artist, poet and teacher with an MFA in Creative Writing from Long Island University in Brooklyn, as well as a longtime Inspired Word host. She teaches at Bronx Community College and is a faculty member with Poetry Teachers NYC, offering affordable poetry workshops and creating spaces for other performers to lift their words off the page. She has been published in various journals and anthologies such as:Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics (Nightboat Books) and The Understanding Between Foxes and Light (great weather for MEDIA). Her full-length book of poems to go without blinking was published in 2012 by BlazeVOX books. She can be found wrapped in caution tape in Brooklyn or at aimeeherman.wordpress.com.

https://www.facebook.com/3po3trynyc

https://twitter.com/3Po3tryNYC

Monday, July 7, 2014

Interview with 3Po3try NYC Poet Nichole Acosta - July 31 Summer Poetry Extravaganza

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Nichole Acosta will be one of the featured poets in Hot House: A Summer Poetry Extravaganza on Thursday, July 31 @ Organic Modernism in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, produced by 3Po3try NYC (https://www.facebook.com/3po3trynyc).

Acosta is a multicultural, Brooklyn-based poet heavily influenced by rappers Narubi Selah, Eve, and Missy Elliot, spoken word poets Lemon Andersen, Beau Sia, and Amiri Baraka and comedian Bo Burnham. Though she hated writing as a kid, her English teachers pushed her to love it. She's been performing since the age of 11, and in 2006, she finished in the top 15 out of 500 youth poets in the Urban Word Slam. She's known for both her cutting and positive words, taking on human nature, popular culture, and the challenging nexus between love and relationships. She is the founder/producer of Epic XII, a unique quarterly performance event featuring 12 collaborations between musicians and poets, and is the Director of Community Relations for The Inspired Word. Her first book of poetry, Field of Fireflies, was released in October 2013. Her website can be found @ http://nicholeacosta.wix.com/poetryVisit Epic XII on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/TheEpic12.

The following is our quick interview with Ms. Acosta:

What’s your definition of poetry?

Poetry is a self-expressive rhythm broken into lines and stanzas.

What’s your favorite place to write?

On the subway.

Does your poetry have a central theme? And if so, what is it?

Love, in all its shapeshifting forms. It's something that every topic imaginable can return.

What one word describes your writing style?

Mostly lyrical these days, but with a purpose.

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

One that isn't afraid to bare some battle scars and really resonates with people from all walks of life.

What's your best writing moment?

When the poem feels finished, the story is told, and the message is locked in.

What's your worst writing moment?

When my pen runs out of ink and I'm alone without another pen.

If you could steal one line from any poem, what would it be?

When I was a kid I used to think "impossible" was short for I am Possible. - Lemon Anderson. Or...Craziness is no act. Not to act is crazy. - Amiri Baraka

That second one gave me my poetry-is-what-I want-to-do moment.

What time of the day do you mostly write?

When I open my eyes to start the day. That's when the best stuff comes out of me.

What book changed your writing forever?

Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese? It really changed my perspective on how to handle and adapt to a lot of change that was happening in my life at the time and pulled me out of a black hole I wasn't sure I was ever going to get out of.

What poet, dead or alive, would you like to be friends with?

Amiri Baraka.


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Do you have any writing superstitions? If so, what are they and how do you deal with them?

I have to have the right notebook. Lucky enough, I have friends and family have gotten me really nice ones over the years.

What comes easy to you with poetry?

Saying what's really on my mind.

What are you hoping to accomplish with your poetry?

I'm just learning how to love myself and others better, telling my stories and hoping people find empowerment, truth and inspiration in what I have to say, that it sparks a real positive change in as many people as possible.

To purchase advance tickets to Hot House: A Summer Poetry Extravaganza, go to http://3po3trynycsummer.eventbrite.com.

Photo credit: Jay Franco (http://jayfranco.co/).




Friday, May 24, 2013

The Inspired Word's 2013 1G NYC Poetry Slam - Get in the Running for $1000 in Total Prize Money!

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Get in the running for $1000 in year-end prize money!

The Inspired Word's 2013 Slam Master Jam poetry slam qualifiers will be held EVERY last Thursday of the month thru October 2013 at Bareburger in the East Village.

Note: No $$$ PRIZES AWARDED FOR WINNING QUALIFIERS.

This is an OPEN COMPETITION for the 1st 25 poets who sign up.

Guarantee a slot with an advance payment via Eventbrite:

http://inspiredwordnycpoetryslam.eventbrite.com/


The winners of the 10 qualifiers will be eligible to face off in the championship finals on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013 for $1000 in total prize money:

1st place - $500

2nd place - $200

3rd place - $100

4th place - $75

5th place - $50

6th place - $30

7th place - $25

8th place - $20

9th place – 2 free drinks

10th place – 1 free drink

Time limit escalates from 3 minutes in the first round to 4 minutes in the last two rounds.

*****

When: EVERY last Thursday (Jan. to Oct.)

Where: Bareburger East Village

Corner of 5th Street and 2nd Avenue, 2nd floor

Manhattan, New York

Phone: (212) 510-8610

By subway, take the F train to Second Avenue and exit the 2nd Avenue side.


Time: Sign-up for the slam starts @ 7pm, slam starts 7:30.

Cover Charge: $10

NO AGE LIMIT.

*****

25 slots, three rounds:

First round - 25 (3-minute time limit)

Second round - Top 4 (4-minute time limit)

Third round - Top 2 (4-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.



Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The Inspired Word on MTV's Washington Heights

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Young poet Frankie Reese performing @ The Inspired Word open mic for the season finale of the MTV series Washington Heights (aired in March 2013).

Also seen in the segment: Open Mic Joint host Nathan P. and Hip Hop MC Wally Wells.

Check out the full episodes of Washington Heights @ http://www.mtv.com/shows/washington_heights/series.jhtml and follow Frankie on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/_wonderfrankie.

The Inspired Word is one of the country's hottest open mic performance series. Produced by longtime journalist and former Village Voice columnist Mike Geffner, it happens weekly in downtown Manhattan, New York City.

Follow The Inspired Word on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/InspiredWordNYC and Instagram @ http://instagram.com/inspiredwordnyc.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Poets Kamilah Aisha Moon & Dwayne Morgan + Open Mic - Thursday, July 7




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features two amazing and amazingly different artists - Brooklyn-by-way-of-Nashville poet Kamilah Aisha Moon and Toronto superstar spoken word poet Dwayne Morgan.

Plus, a 15-slot open mic (open to poets, spoken word artists, actors, fiction/nonfiction writers, comedians, storytellers, singers, musicians, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING).

Hosted by 3-time HBO Def Poetry star Gemineye.

BIOS:

Kamilah Aisha Moon is an alumna of Cave Canem. A recipient of fellowships to the Prague Summer Writing Institute, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, and the Vermont Studio Center, her work has been featured or is forthcoming in several journals and anthologies, including The Harvard Review, jubilat, Sou’wester, The Oxford American, Lumina, Callaloo, Bittersweet, Open City, Essence, Bloom, Obsidian III, Mosaic, Gathering Ground, The Ringing Ear and Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. A featured poet in conferences and venues around the country, she has also led creative writing residencies for the Langston Hughes National Poetry Project, Community~Word Project, Acentos and Voices UnBroken. Moon received her MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Moon currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. For more info on Ms. Moon, please visit http://www.kamilahaishamoon.org/

Kamilah Aisha Moon reads "Borderless Country" from heather christle on Vimeo.


Dwayne Morgan began his career as a spoken word artist in 1993. In 1998, Morgan received both the African Canadian Achievement Award and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts. He is also the winner of three Canadian Urban Music Awards (2001, 2003, 2005). In 2005 he was recognized as Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Vancouver. In 2008 Morgan’s contribution to the Arts and Canadian society were recognized on the Official Black History Month poster.



*****

When: Thursday, July 7, 2011

Where: One and One Bar & Restaurant (downstairs Nexus Lounge)
76 East 1st Street (corner of 1st Avenue)
Manhattan, NYC
Phone: (917) 703-1512

Time: Open Mic sign-up starts @ 6:30pm. Show starts @ 7:30pm

Cover Charge: $10

NO AGE LIMIT!

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Friday, May 20, 2011

The Inspired Word's NYC Rising Stars Night + Open Mic - Thursday, May 26




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word features Rising Stars Night: spoken word poet Esoteric Structure, actress/poet Lillian Rodriguez, and Blues/Art Rock/Baroque Pop band Sylvana Joyce + The Moment.

Also a 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 HBO Def Poetry star Gemineye.

*****

ARTIST BIOS:

Lillian Rodriguez was raised in the Bronx. She is an actor and a spoken word poet. First working with International WOW Theatre Company in the summer of 2009, she has since, had her Fringe Festival, NYC debut in "Survival of the Fittest," was 'Helen of Troy' in "The Trojan Women" at Looking Glass Theatre, and acted in "Men Die and They Aren't Happy," a film touring the world (from Miami to Haifa, Israel). She works as an Associate Correspondent on Diplomatically Incorrect at the United Nations, where she interviews women active in art and diplomacy; exploring the notion of the "Diplomat Artist." Lillian just finished shooting the second webisode of "Red Notice," she plays a lead in this webseries based off Dante's Inferno. For more info, please check out http://www.lillianrodriguez.com/.



In the summer of 2010, Sylvana Joyce (piano/voice/music/lyrics) founded a five-oiece band with her childhood friend, Sean-David Cunningham (violin), after finally deciding to get her lifelong itch to perform out of her skin. The granddaughter of the late Romanian composer/celebrity George Sbarcea, Sylvana took to songwriting early in life. Her compositions range the spectrum of Blues, Soul, Jazz, Cabaret, and Gypsy, with a nod to her Eastern European heritage and theatre background that has drawn comparison to Gogol Bordello, Dresden Dolls and Billie Holiday. So far, the band has garnered a respectable reputation among Boston and NYC venues, having impressed McGann's, Parkside Lounge and The Bitter End, as well as having enjoyed a long summer residency at Northern Soul in Hoboken, NJ, where they later performed as nominees for Best Band of 2010 at the Hoboken Music Awards. Their next show will be as headliners at the Algonquin Seaport Theater at South Street Seaport, Pier 17, on May 28. For more info, go to sylvanajoyce.com.



Esoteric Structure is a spoken word poet and the winner of the 2nd Inspired Word "American Idol" contest. He's also a clothing designer, illustrator and filmmaker. He recently completed a short film called "Dom & Magdalena."



*****

When: Thursday, May 26, 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 for open mic sign-up @ 6:30pm

Showtime @ 7:30pm

Cover Charge: $10

NO AGE LIMIT!


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Inspired Word's Hot NYC Spoken Word Poetry Open Mic





The Inspired Word's hot open mic @ One and One Bar/Restaurant, Nexus Lounge, Manhattan, NY.

Featured in this video: Featuring Nathan P., Alexander Hu, Mark Anthony Vigo, Starski, Kevin Patrick Nelson, Dean El Negro, Joy Deva Baglio, Ululy Rafael Martinez, Maria Chisolm, and Romeo Ballantine. Host: Erica Bradshaw.

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.

The Inspired Word open mic is open to ALL types of artists - comedians, storytellers, musicians, singers, as well as poets and spoken word artists. 

Filmed and Edited by: Laurence Wallace
http://www.laurencewallace.com/

Music by: Oveous
http://oveous.blogspot.com/

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The Inspired Word's 1st EVER Slam Master Jam! Thursday, March 17!




Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word's 1st EVER Slam Master Jam for Poets, Spoken Word Artists, and Storytellers!

This is the first 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.

Go in!

DISCLAIMER: No $$$ prizes awarded for THIS leg of the 5-leg series.

When: Thursday, March 17, 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

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

20 slots, three rounds:

First round - 20

Second round - Top 4

Third round - Top 2

Strict Guidelines: 3-minute/one-poem limit each turn (plus a ten-second grace period; if the poet 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.

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Sunday, January 30, 2011

One more day left to vote for the Living Poet Tribute!



One more day left to vote for the Living Poet Tribute!

Here's how the vote stands:

Amiri Baraka
10 (12%)

Sandra Maria Esteves
4 (5%)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
8 (10%)

Piri Thomas
4 (5%)

Sonia Sanchez
5 (6%)

Maya Angelou
19 (23%)

Nikki Giovanni
8 (10%)

Jayne Cortez
1 (1%)

Rita Dove
5 (6%)

Tato Laviera
5 (6%)

Maxine Kumin
3 (3%)

Abiodun Oyewole
3 (3%)

Ntozake Shange
5 (6%)

Votes so far: 80

Days left to vote: 1

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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Living Poet Tribute Poll - Only 5 Days Left!



This is the way the poll stands:

Amiri Baraka

9 (12%)

Sandra Maria Esteves

4 (5%)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

8 (10%)

Piri Thomas

3 (4%)

Sonia Sanchez

5 (6%)

Maya Angelou

17 (23%)

Nikki Giovanni

7 (9%)

Jayne Cortez

1 (1%)

Rita Dove

4 (5%)

Tato Laviera

5 (6%)

Maxine Kumin

2 (2%)

Abiodun Oyewole

3 (4%)

Ntozake Shange

5 (6%)

Votes so far: 73
Days left to vote: 5

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Monday, January 17, 2011

POLL! Which Living Poet Should We Pay Tribute To? Please Make Your Voice Heard!




Which Living Poet Should The Inspired Word Pay Tribute To?

Piri Thomas
Amiri Baraka
Sandra Maria Esteves
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Sonia Sanchez
Maya Angelou
Nikki Giovanni
Jayne Cortez
Rita Dove
Tato Laviera
Maxine Kumin
Abiodun Oyewole
Ntozake Shange

Please vote in our poll box down the upper right hand side. Make your voice heard!

POLL ENDS Feb. 1, 2011.

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Spoken Word New York's Nicole S. Ross: 4 Steps To Effective Blog Participation For Writers




4 Steps To Effective Blog Participation For Writers
By Nicole S. Ross
http://www.spokenwordnewyork.com/

Almost everyone these days knows what a blog is. You can’t surf the Internet for too long before you run into a blog regardless of what the topic is. Blogging is a two sided relationship, one that exists between the owner of the blog and the readers of the blog. As a writer, your goal is to participate in the blog so that the readers of the blog become aware of who you are and what it is that you do. Participating in one or more blogs is a simple, highly effective and totally free way to find real prospects on the Internet.

However, before you get started, you will need a few things to make sure that you are able to make the most of your participation. Those things, in order are:

1. A Gravatar – a gravatar, also called an avatar, is an image that follows you from site to site and always appears beside your name when you post comments on a blog. Your gravatar allows people to start to recognize you by face, which is very important if you are a writer. Studies have shown that when a person knows you by face, they feel connected to you and this is precisely what you want if you are trying to gain more exposure. Gravatars are free and only require that you have a picture of yourself to upload for use with the service. Once you upload your picture, you will be given the option to crop it and then save it. After saving it, any blog that you comment on that supports gravatars will show your face next to your comments.

2. A Destination – most of the time, when you comment on a blog, the blog owner will allow you to place a link back to a destination of your choice. For writers, this will usually be a link to your Facebook profile or another site where the user can learn more about you and what it is that you do. I do want to stress that in almost EVERY case, you will want to use your Facebook profile because it will allow them to friend request you which in turn allows you to send them messages in the future. Using a regular website link will not give you those capabilities so make sure you always use your Facebook profile unless you have a very specific reason not to.

3. A Plan – depending on the blog and the amount of readers that it has, making comments on a blog can dramatically increase your exposure to people who are looking for places to see writers perform their work. And all that you need to do is look at the articles on the site and think of them as conversations. You need to participate in as many of these conversations as is reasonably possible. To participate, you will need to read the entire article and make an intelligent and useful comment.

For example, if the blog has an article about another poet, read the article and then use your comment to congratulate the poet on the article and let them know that you will look forward to seeing more of their work in the future. If you are familiar with the poet, you could also use your comment to give other readers your recommendation of why they should take the time to check out this poet in person.

Doing this will encourage other poets to do the same for you, which not only builds a connection between you and other poets, but between you and the other readers of the blog because you are helping them separate the good from the bad when it comes to spoken word poets.

A word of caution though, NEVER use your comments for self promotion or any sort of unnecessary negativity when it comes to another person’s work. You do not want people to see you as someone that goes out of their way to tarnish another person’s reputation.

4. Consistency – being consistent means that people will start to want to hear your opinion on certain topics along with the writer of the article. It is not uncommon for blog readers to value the opinion of specific regular commentators as much as or more than the writer of the content. In many of the top blogs, the commentators are more responsible for the growth of the blog than the content writers are. The reward for being consistent is conversations and traffic. People will feel connected to you, want to know more about you and will also want to talk to you more.

I hope that everyone reading this will take these four steps and put them into action right away. Not only will they prove to be extremely valuable, but they will also put you on the road to running your own effective blog if you choose to do so.

Please visit Ms. Ross's sites:

http://SpokenWordNewYork.com

http://spoken-word-new-york.blogspot.com

http://wrensnestmarketing.com

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Sunday, January 2, 2011

Poetry Marketing 101: Are You Social Networking Or Social Media Marketing?




Poetry Marketing 101: Are You Social Networking Or Social Media Marketing?
By Nicole S. Ross
http://www.spokenwordnewyork.com/

Just recently I attended a poetry event and met a “professional poet” who was very confident in himself and his marketing strategy. After a long conversation about his accomplishments and how he promotes himself, I inquired as to how he promotes himself via Internet. With a charismatic smile, he confidently responds with “Facebook.” Without a website or any other form of connection to himself, he was sure that Facebook was all he needed to succeed in marketing his poetry via Internet. Which is why I felt compelled to write this article.

Marketing or promoting events on Facebook is easily the most misunderstood business process that I see on a day to day basis. Now that Facebook has over 500 million registered users, it makes sense that just about everyone with a product or service to sell has joined the party. There are dozens, if not hundreds of poets that are using Facebook to promote events in the tri-state area on a weekly basis.

The problem is that very few of these poets actually see the big picture. They think that they are doing what is called social media marketing when in reality they are simply social networking. That’s right, there is a HUGE difference between the two.

Social media marketing is when you are using social media platforms such as Facebook to find NEW prospects and eventually turn them into paying customers. Social networking is when you use social media platforms such as Facebook to talk to people that you know, such as your friends, family and maybe people that share some of the same common interests that you do. The key difference between social media marketing and social networking is that one usually produces MONEY and the other one usually produces CONVERSATIONS.

I will give you an example. If you watch any decent amount of television, you have seen a commercial where instead of the company giving their website, they say connect with us on Facebook. They do this because they understand just how powerful social media marketing is. Large companies have already figured out that Facebook has more traffic than Google. They also know that if they “connect” with you on Facebook, they get more information about you than they would if you just watched a commercial and went to their website.

Think about that for just a moment. When you watch a commercial and then go to the company’s website, they really don’t know anything about you unless you buy something from them right then. But on Facebook, when you go to a company’s fan page or request them as a friend, they generally have access to all the information that you are freely sharing in your Facebook profile.

This means they know your name, where you live, what your hobbies are and they can now send you messages to directly interact with you. They can also send you updates by simply posting useful content to their Facebook account and this content will automatically show up in your Facebook stream. THIS is why they want you to connect with them on Facebook instead of visiting their website and it makes perfect sense when you think about it.

If you are a poet, you really need to to stop and ask yourself are you social networking or social media marketing when you use Facebook. Then ask yourself if you “really” understand how to promote or market on Facebook? Just because your Facebook account has hundreds or even thousands of friends that you send messages to when you have upcoming performances or events does not mean that you know what you are doing.

You would be surprised at how many poets I see with marketing efforts that are very similar to someone that is trying to sell ice to Eskimos. What I mean by that is they are just sending their so-called marketing messages to people who basically do the same exact thing that they do. What you are supposed to be doing is sending your marketing messages to people who have shown that they are interested in seeing poetry or spoken word events in your local area. This will be very difficult for most poets because they have not figured out that this does not happen on Facebook. It happens on the search engines.

Did you know that every month tens of thousands of people use a search engine to search for spoken word events in the New York area? The simple truth is that the search engines are where you will find your prospects and potential customers – NOT Facebook. Once you let them find you, THEN you will direct them to your Facebook account so that you can easily follow-up with them and share your work and upcoming event details with them periodically as well.

I hope that this article has shed some light on the differences between social networking and social media marketing. I also hope that those of you that intend to be social media marketers realize that you need to stop wasting your time social networking and start taking steps to become a social media marketer.

Please visit Ms. Ross's sites:

http://SpokenWordNewYork.com

http://spoken-word-new-york.blogspot.com

http://wrensnestmarketing.com

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Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Great Photography of Inspired Word Staff Photographer Cathryn Lynne



Corrina Bain



Sean Patrick Conlon



Caridad de la Luz (La Bruja)



Vaimoana Niumeitolu



Oveous Maximus



Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado



Jane Ormerod



Jamaal St. John



Caroline Rothstein


Photos By: Cathryn Lynne
NYC Freelance Photographer

Please visit Cathryn's site and Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/cathrynlynnephoto

http://www.facebook.com/cathrynlynnephoto


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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Inspired Word/Thursday, June 17 @ One and One Bar & Restaurant - Carlos Andrés Gómez, Sarah Kay, Ocean Vuong + open mic!



Mike Geffner presents The Inspired Word, featuring Carlos Andrés Gómez, Sarah Kay, Ocean Vuong, and a 10-slot open mic!

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 signup starts at 6:30pm; ask for Adrian or Marvin)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ is an actor, playwright, and poet from New York City. He is a Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poet and the 2006 Toronto International Poetry Slam Champion. Named Artist of the Year at the 2009 Promoting Outstanding Writers Awards, he appears in Spike Lee’s #1 box office smash hit film “INSIDE MAN” with a lead role alongside Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and Clive Owen. Over the past year, he's collaborated with Tony Award-winning tap dance legend Savion Glover on Broadway, represented the United States at the Poetry Africa International Festival in Durban, South Africa, and was a special guest performer at the MACY's Passport Fashion Show. For more info, please visit: http://www.carloslive.com/.



Sarah Kay is a Spoken Word Poet who grew up in New York City and began performing her poetry when she was only fourteen years old. Even though she was often the youngest poet by a decade, Sarah made herself at home at the Bowery Poetry Club, one of New York's most famous Spoken Word venues. In 2006, she joined the Bowery Poetry Club's Poetry Slam Team, NYC Urbana, and competed in the 2006 National Poetry Slam in Austin Texas. That year, she was the youngest poet competing at Nationals. Sarah was featured on the sixth season of the television series Russell Simmons presents HBO Def Poetry Jam, where she performed her poem "Hands." She has performed in venues across the country including Lincoln Center, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the United Nations, where she was a featured performer for the launch of the 2004 World Youth Report. She has performed side by side with Spoken Word superstars like Beau Sia, Taylor Mali, Buddy Wakefield, and many others. In 2004, Sarah founded Project V.O.I.C.E. to encourage teenagers toward creative self-expression through Spoken Word workshops. She has taught Spoken Word to students of all ages and most recently she has been teaching a weekly after-school spoken word class at Hope High School in Providence, Rhode Island.



Born in 1988 in Saigon, Vietnam, Ocean Vuong currently resides in New York City as an undergraduate student at Brooklyn College. His poems have received an Academy of American Poets award as well as two Pushcart Prize nominations. His work appears in Word Riot, the Kartika Review, Lantern Review, SOFTBLOW, Asia Literary Review, and PANK among others. He enjoys practicing Zen Meditation and is an avid supporter of animal rights.



*****

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

******

Mike Geffner
Founder/Producer

Marvin Mendlinger
Assistant Director

Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado
MC/Host

Adrian Wyatt
Open Mic Mistress

Marron Cox
Hostess Extraordinaire

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Inspired Word/Thursday, June 10 @ (Le) Poisson Rouge - Carvens, Seary, Ormerod + open mic!



Mike Geffner presents The Inspired Word, featuring Carvens Lissaint, Jane Ormerod, JF Seary, and a 10-slot open mic!

Where: (Le) Poisson Rouge (downstairs gallery)
158 Bleecker Street (between Thompson and Sullivan)
Manhattan, NYC
http://lepoissonrouge.com/

Time: 7pm (open mic signup starts at 6:30pm; ask for Adrian or Marvin)

Cover Charge: $10

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

*****

Carvens Lissaint is a young performance artist, native from Haiti who resides in Washington Heights, New York. He first established himself as a spoken word artist in 2006 and went on to win multiple poetry slams in the tri-state area. He was the 2007 Grand Slam Champion of the highly acclaimed New York Knicks Poetry Slam, a member of the 2008 Newark, NJ slam team that placed 6th in the Brave New Voices National poetry competition, 2009 Slam Global Grand Slam Champion, a member of the 2009 Urban Word Nyc poetry slam team, 2009 Robert Redford Speak Green Team and has won poetry slams in various venues including the Bowery Poetry Club and the famous Nuyorican Poets Café. He has mentored and Coached the New York University Collegiate team and the New York City youth team in 2010. Carvens also debuted his one-man show called “Walk” (directed and co-developed by Queen GodIs, choreographed by Nicco Anann and sponsored by Urban Word NYC in collaboration with DTW) at Dance Theater Workshop where he was noticed for his high energy and crowd-capturing Theater skills. He is currently signed to Penmanship Books Publishing and has touched stages across the country performing at the Sundance Film Festival and in the United States Green Build Council. He hopes to share his art with the world, and become a better being of the universe.



Jane Ormerod is the author of Recreational Vehicles on Fire (Three Rooms Press, 2009), 11 Films (Modern Metrics, 2008,) and the spoken word CD Nashville Invades Manhattan. She is host of the reading series Emotional Rescue at The Cornelia Street Café, performs throughout the United States and beyond, and is a founding editor at Uphook Press. “One of the most imaginative, persistent poetry visionaries… (Jane’s) signature style is beyond belief—moving lightspeed with an astoundingly unique beat and the ability to communicate with complete command of language,” said Daniel Yaryan, producer of the San Francisco poetry series "Sparring With Beatnik Ghosts."



J F Seary is an educator/poet/actor. She has been writing and performing her poetry for over ten years. Her performance career began at Binghamton University. Since then she has performed at the Nuyorican Poets Café, the Bowery Poetry Club, Cemí Underground, 5C Cultural Center, Binghamton University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Penn State University, Rutgers University, University at Albany, SUNY Stony Brook and other venues. Seary is currently a member of the NYC Latina Writers Group, The Fantastic Latina Playwright's Lab and she is on tour with Urbintel's "HerStory."



*****

Mike Geffner
Founder/Producer

Marvin Mendlinger
Assistant Director

Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado
MC

Eliel Lucero
DJ

Adrian Wyatt
Open Mic Mistress

Marron Cox
Hostess Extraordinaire

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Monday, June 7, 2010

The One-of-a-Kind Inspired Word Host Erik "Advocate of Wordz" Maldonado









Photos By: Peter Woloszyn
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Awesome Candid Pics @ The Inspired Word!



From left to right: Howard (Seraph) Treadwell, Erik Maldonado, Timothy Jones



Tahani Salah (l), Vanessa Hidary (r)



Marvin Mendlinger (l), Timothy Jones (r)



Erik Maldonado (l), Tahani Salah (r)



Vanessa Hidary (l), Mike Conroy (r)


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