Deonte Osayande

Updates

2011-10-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Going to do remodeling and updates to the blog soon, stay tuned in. Until then you can keep up with me at http://deonteosayandepoetry.tumblr.com/

Slam Team Bios

2011-07-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Biography: Natasha “T.Miller” Miller

Natasha Miller is the voice of wounds exposed, and the healing balm of poetry applied to the human spirit. The passionate 25 year-old Detroit, MI native is a writer, performance poet, dedicated activist, actress and an aspiring motivational speaker. Since her debut, just over three years ago, Natasha has proven to be a poetical powerhouse. After one year on the performance circuit, in 2007, she was crowned Detroit Poetry Slam team’s Grand Slam Champion, and has been a member of three National Poetry Slam teams. She has also been a Women of The World Poetry Slam finalist two years in a row, ranking as the third female slam poet in the world in 2008. Natasha continued her impressive record by leading and coaching her team to championship at the 2010 Midwest Rustbelt Poetry Slam, ranking #2 in the competition.
Natasha has awed audiences across the country at universities, festivals and numerous venues including the famous Nuyorican Poets Café in New York, Vancouver Poetry slam, Girl Fest Hawaii and Chicago’s Green Mill. She has premiered on stages with celebrity actors and comedians Oscar award winning Mo’nique, Star of the movie “Paper Hearts” Charlyne Yi, Brandon T. Jackson, actor Malcolm Jamal Warner, legendary poet Jessica Care Moore, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli, and many more. Mo’Nique, impressed, personally invited Natasha to feature on her radio show. In 2010, she starred in a national commercial campaign for Sprite.. In the same year, she released her solo spoken word album “Poetry for Change,” and featured in the stage play “The Revolution’s In The Ladies Room” produced by Jessica care Moore.
Natasha is currently ranked as the number 5 female slam poet in the world, She now produces the popular “Its Not About You Poetry Slam Series.” Recently she started her own publishing company “All I Wanna Say Publishing” and published her first book of quotes “Dreams Of A Beginner.” She is currently finishing her memoir titled “Rape, Suicide, God, and Poetry.” Fueled by her own mistakes, faith, and unapologetic truth, Natasha, uses words to enlighten, create equality, imbue life, and most importantly spread love and peace in the tradition of great leaders before her.

Biography: Omari “King Wise” Barksdale

Omari "King Wise" Barksdale (Detroit's Echoverse Grand Slam Champion) is a Detroit based poet and founder of Uhuru Cipher Artists Management. Since 2001, he has held the attention of audiences across the country including representing Detroit, MI as a member of the last 6 Detroit Slam teams and the 2007 Rust Belt Championship Slam Team. As an artist, he has performed at over 50 Universities/colleges nationwide and co-founded the lecture group "Hip-Poe-Tics", Omari has also been privileged to share the stage with many great leaders and artists including but not limited to The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr., Erykah Badu, Common, Talib Kweli, The Last Poets, Afeni Shakur, Chuck D, Krs-One, Professor Griff, Dead Prez, Amiri Baraka, X-Clan, and many more.

As a solo artist and as a member of Hip-Poe-Tics Omari has been a presenter at the National Conference On Race and Ethnicity (N.C.O.R.E) which is a conference geared towards the topic of diversity in higher education and beyond.

As an activist, Omari has been involved in a multitude of activities and programs in which he has been called upon to provide help as a speaker, poet, ally or providing assistance with his hands. Since becoming active he has worked in the capacity of “Legislative Assistant” for the Detroit City Council and waged a strong campaign for State office and has extended his hand to work with many community organizations and governing bodies both locally and across state lines.

Biography: Deonte Osayande

Deonte Osayande is one of the 2010/2011 Presidential Ambassadors for the University of Detroit Mercy. In 2010 he was runner up in the Dudley Randall Poetry Contest and in the Howling Wolf Chapbook Contest. He finished in third place at the Define Your Legend poetry contest at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. During 2011 he finished third in the Dudley Randall Poetry Competition to again be a top finalist and second in Detroit Mercy’s Women and Gender Studies creative writing competition. In this year’s Howling Wolf Chapbook Contest he was a co-winner of the competition alongside Allison Bohn and will have a book co-written by the two published by the university in the near future. He is a member of the 2011 Detroit Neo Minds Poetry Slam Team that competed at the Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam. He has read at the University of Toledo, University of Detroit Mercy, University of Michigan Dearborn and Michigan State University. He has been a featured reader at the African World Festival, Scarab Club and Symposium for the Society of the Study of Midwestern Literature to name a few places. His poetry appears on online quarterlies such as Troubadour21 and Renaissance City, Detroit Mercy's literary magazines [sic] 16, [sic] 17 and [sic] 18 and the upcoming 31st issue of Bredcrumb Scabs magazine. He released a self published chapbook entitled Quills of Fire in 2010. He is a graduate of the Broadside Press Institute of Cultural Studies and a former intern instructor with the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute of Self Development. He is currently working on a Bachlor's degree in Elementary Education with a focus in Mathematics and English at the University of Detroit Mercy that he will be completing in the fall.

Biography: Gabriel Israel Green

Gabe is an up and coming performance poet in the Detroit Poetry Community. Although he's only been performing for about a year and a half, he's already published two books of poetry. Gabe aspires to become a better artist at his craft, and is also attnending college in hopes of becoming a teacher.

Biography: Christopher "UNtitled" Jones

Christopher had started writing and performing in Oct 2009. He was a member of Detroit's 2011 Midwest Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam Team. He attended the University of Detroit Mercy for Engineering between the years of 98-01 before leaving to Houston, Texas. Now that he's returned home he has become a great activist as well as writer. He teaches poetry as a volunteer at Osborn, Central, and Detroit School of Arts High Schools. He encourages youth to empower themselves through the word. He was also the manager opperating the Detroit venue, The Sweet Epiphany from July 2010 to June this year.

Freewrite

2011-07-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

I listen to her heartbeat
to discover what music
is actually like. The sound
of it is a marble rattling
between the lobes of my brain,
pulsating purity into them.

An ear pressed to her chest
it like a message in a bottle
from heaven. I've been told
there are many fish in the sea
but see she is a mermaid.

I plucked out my own eyes
out of the desire of not seeing
anything after I had bore
witness to her beauty.
The gouged pupil
has felt tricked by lesser imitations
of her by those envious with jealousy.

People of the Water live

2011-05-11T04:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmbxZ1G8FCI

This Week

2011-05-10T09:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Grand Slam Finals for the Detroit National Poetry Slam Team. The event is at Sweet Epiphany Detroit, on West Outer Drive by Final cuts barber shop and it costs 15 at the door, 10 in advance. Come out and support me and some of the city's finest poets as we vie for the 5 spots to represent the city in Boston this August.

Also this week I will be amongst poets Allison Bohn, Brandon Clark, and Alex Jones at the symposium for the society of the study of midwestern literature. Our reading will be early friday, the event is at Michigan State University and further details are on the symposiums website below. Hope to see you there.

http://www.ssml.org/

Next Project

2011-05-09T07:07:00.001-07:00

The school year has ended and the result of the last poetry contest, the Howling Wolf Chapbook Contest, has come in. Poets Allison Bohn and Deonte Osayande, both very talented in their own respects and varying styles have resulted in a tie. Instead of any squabbling and pettiness the university staff and both writers have decided to come together for a chapbook that will feature writing from both poets and their respective manuscripts. I'd like to express thanks to everyone and they'll be more updates coming in the near future.

Thanks

2011-04-21T05:27:00.001-07:00

It's been a lot of troubling things going on in the past month. I'd like to give everyone who has been supportive of me and all of my efforts thanks. I'd like to thank all the judges and competitors of both the Dudley Randall Poetry Competition and the Woman and Gender Studies Creative Writing Competition, of which I finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. I'll keep everyone posted on my next chapbook entitled Murmur, hopefully being released this summer.

When the rain stops

2011-03-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

When the rain stops
I"ll still try to
remember what the
kiss we never had
feels like.

When the rain stops
I can no longer imagine
that you are stroking
my bare scalp once more.

When the rain stops
it will all be real
no more
wiping the nimbus from your eyes,
fingers innertwining,
feet resting parallel,
kicks from a growing butterfly in your stomach,
sweet scents of sunrised meals,
clothes used as postcards from memories,
no more parts of myself given for no reason.

When the rain stops
there is just the day
no person to look forward to
telling how the day went
just the day itself.

When the rain stops
I promise myself I won't call
a number I never had in the first place,
or think about introducing myself
to a person who barely knows what they mean to me.

When the rain stops
I'll still be here
stuck in place like
a bucket, with no handle
holding it together.

100 Things About Me In 400 Words Or Less

2011-03-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

1. I am waking up
2. over thinker
3. over lover
4. fire and air
5. music
6. gold
7. fan of the tunes of heartbeats
8. appreciator of inner beauty
9. eye wanderer
10. matchmaker with matches
11. adversary of vanity
12. sleep practitioner
13. starved of dreams
14. architect of fantasies
15. intentional mistakes
16. a personal library
17. records of redemption
18. hip hop
19. rock and roll
20. My shoulders are pages
21. My spine holds scrolls together
22. A back stabbed by pencils
23. My poems are scarred tattoos
24. My nails are dirty
25. I am a listener
26. predictor of people's words
27. a great book
28. A track and field sprinter
29. A rain dancer
30. Very accepting
31. My favorite number is 5
32. I enjoy multiples of 5
33. Smiles are infernos to me
34. Embraces are gravitational
35. I prefer a nice personality over anything
36. A feeler of vibes
37. I was a break dancing child
38. an angry child
39. the new abstract nigger
40. lover of eclipses
41. My eyes are dried reservoirs
42. My ears are winds
43. I am a horrible chef
44. combinations of ingredients
45. I tried
46. submission
47. sorrow
48. forgiveness
49. apologetic
50. the pain
51. pain
52. pain
53. pane
54. windows withhold sunlight
55. attracting to the illiterate
56. I want to author kids one day
57. silence disturbs my sleep
58. I leave televisions on
59. my dreams clip together
60. and they fire
61. they fire
62. fire
63. fire
64. gunshots are lullabies
65. my corneas see words
66. sentences
67. mars
68. the marred
69. martyrdom
70. I feel
71. Hated
72. Loved
73. Rewarded
74. Punished
75. Unique
76. Rare
77. Original
78. Rapture
79. Joy
80. Anger
81. African
82. American
83. Black
84. Red
85. Gold
86. Green
87. Damn Dollars
88. money causing damage
89. imagination resting ideas
90. hurt creativity
91. reality doesn't sooth it
92. a girl told me she was afraid to ruin me
93. I'm too good
94. I don't want to hear that
95. Sorrows sprints after me
96. Fight or Flight
97. beyond definitions of heated tornadoes
98. I am as I always was
99. and will be beyond measurement
100. I am the loving sensation in the morning

For Those With Difficulty Speaking For Themselves

2011-03-21T09:02:00.000-07:00

It isn't the way
you call him one
of those people
in rooms void
of his presence.
It's the way you look
down and away,
avoiding the face
and not really attentively
when he tries to speak to you.
You call things retarded
in his presence,
equating
a lack of intelligence
to something
he can't help but share.

Mysteries

2011-03-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

I.

When you are asked
where he touched you
do not be afraid
to tell them
you don't know
anywhere
he hasnt.

II.

I promised her
god didn't want
any more broken knees
her prayers are heard
it's just that the answers
are in the one asking
the questions.

III.

On finding out
that he was the
father, he also
discovered the
ability to disappear
his dad passed down
to him.

20 Things I Learned Before the Age of 20

2011-03-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

1. Repeat something enough times, you'll have faith in it.
2. Women use emotion, men use logic, master both.
3. You have no idea how badly everyone wants to be the first.
4. Everyone has the same issues as a teenager, just different levels.
5. Repeat something enough times to believe it.
6. Embrace your fear of loneliness, it'll give a power most don't have.
7. Any pimple not on your nose is no big deal, even bleeding ones.
8. Everybody/ lies. Everybody sleeps./ Some will lie to sleep./
9. Trust nobody's appearance, not even your own.
10. Remember what you're supposed to repeat.
11. Most people use tattoos as distractions from their inner attractions
12. Don't worry about fitting in, this is the time when people make scars. It'll be space for you in them.
13. Trust your instincts...figure out what they're saying first
14. If you think someone else will save you, you're already doomed.
15. I love you is the hardest thing to repeat, believe and remember.
16. Forgive your father for going back to Africa, lament him for not taking you.
17. Hearts eventually break into sand. Learn to make hourglasses.
18. Anything bleeding not on your nose is a big deal.
19.What do you do in/a world that doesn't want you?/You make a new one/
20. Repeat and remember those three words, your logic and emotion will thank you.

20 Things I learned before age 10

2011-03-03T07:30:00.001-08:00

1. Red is an amazing color. You look good in it.

2. Being a parent is something most kids don't wish to be when they grow up.

3. Tears not shed are left on taste buds, words can hurt.

4. God will forgive you for sleeping in church. It's not your fault.

5. After so many near death experiences you realize you're here on purpose.

6. Don't be so shy, nobody is without secrets.

7. Enjoy girls young,they break when they get older...so do boys.

8. No matter what anyone says Pluto is closer than the moon.

9. There are worst things than being alone I swear.

10. They will turn on you so swiftly, study the death of Malcolm X.

11. Typing stereos is a faceless raceless crime

12. Your anger and pain will do more with your tongue than your knuckles could.

13. The ugly kids grow up to be outwardly pretty.

14. The pretty kids grow up to be inwardly hideous.

15. A hill and a running start is all it takes to fly, don't stop.

16. You have no idea how much video games will teach you.

17. You're filled with reds, but are made of the blues.

18. Most people won't matter or be remembered in the long run.

19. Slavery wasn't that long ago.

20. Learn to like you before anyone else.

Malcolm's Poem

2011-02-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

By any means neccesary
was not meant to be used
in the same ways that some
rebels execute the leaders
that liberated them
in the first place.

His skin, was engraved
with the very mechanisms
that his tongue and vocal chords
could outpower.

Children will not know his name
without the fear his words insighted,
the phrases of those too tormented
to stay afraid. His rust colored hair
will gaze to the east in peace,
while the room where he was treated
like the messiah of cannibals.

Some sacrifices will not nourish
the herd into saving themselves
and followers will do nobody any good
when they're hands are in their pockets.

Poem 1

2011-02-25T07:59:00.000-08:00

My knees hold grown men
in fetal positions with
prepaid wings like mothers
who never intended to be
mothers.

There are shared avalanches
between body and spirit.
Emotions can't be shoveled,
but they can be buried.

The Battle of Ohio

2011-02-17T08:47:00.000-08:00

Last night's slam in Columbus became a Battle Royal rather than a triple threat match as the poetry crew from Cleveland was able to enter in at the last minute. Cleveland would end up taking the win in a tightly contested bout, above Columbus Writing Wrongs by only .6 of a point and Detroit Neo Minds by 1.2 from the winner's spot in third. The slam was run in 4 rounds with different teams going a different order each round. Detroit would go on to pull a drawing of 3rd in the first round, 2nd in the second round, 1st in the third round and the final spot of the evening in the final round. It was such a wonderful experience and a show that was amazing to be a part of.

The Triple Threat: Battle of Columbus and Detroit

2011-02-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

Neo Minds (Detroit) vs Writers' Block (Columbus) vs Writing Wrongs (Columbus)

Neo Minds of Detroit is coming into town to take on Writers' Block and Writing Wrongs. But Writers' Block and Writing Wrongs are taking each other on too. That's right! Let's make this a three way poetry slam battle. Pow! Boff! Wham!

This is going to be a 3X4 bout (three teams, four poets each) to determine points that go toward getting into the National Poetry slam.

Be there. If you thought it mattered before (and it did), there stakes just got multiplied. By 3.

Nommo Presents Deonte Osayande

2011-01-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

Has been postponed until further notice because of the impeding snow storm. The new date will be released when it's determined.

World Events

2011-01-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

There is a lot that is going on importantly politically in the world during this period in time. I remember a while back I had a conversation with a couple of friends of mine and a respected elder. It was a professor to my knowledge and I don't recall the topic of discussion but we ended up on world issues as they were mentioned in all of our poetry. I remember stating that there will be a point where it boils over and the general population is going to realize that they are larger in numbers than those that oppress them. This prof would go on to call me crazy,lol,to which I couldn't really deny.

This brings me back to the situations of today happening all around the world. As Americans we like to act like we aren't a part of or that we are greater than the rest of the world. In reality everything that happens elsewhere effects the empire here. You could bring up the recent terrorist attack in Russia this month here and people would treat it as if it were so distant. Sure it isn't on our soil, but that is a nation similar in capability and strength to our own.

Back to what's going on in Tunisia, and more recently Egypt. I hope that the protesters get correct justice. Anyone ruling over a nation for close to thirty years is just way too long. Many of us have become so conditioned to just laying down to the powers that be, that the news of uprisings in these nations can be shocking, and to some, fearsome.

I find it interesting. It shows that somewhere people are reaching that point, where they won't just go with something that they disagree with. It can serve as a lesson to the rest of us, that nations, democratic or not, are to some degree run by people. If they succeed in getting a new government in power, it may not just be a victory for themselves, or for their nation, but for oppressed people around the world. What would the future hold for people that are able to invoke such change and revolution?

Apology to a Snowflake

2010-12-20T09:30:00.000-08:00

Apology to a Snowflake

It was instincts against intentions
when removing blankets of snow
leaving your bedside, I just needed
to sleep alone for once, sneaking out.

Outside of my nature,
actions I hadn't thought about,
just the fatigue of making it work on me,
but blame couldn't go all on you.

We were that puzzle missing the snowflake
going in the middle making the picture perfect,
that empty space always glared back at us,
aggressively, searching, demanding.

I don't want those three years back,
I want to see the 1095 sunrises
in your smile,
one last time.

Sometimes when saving daylights time
I left my mind behind bodily wishes.
Hearts and heads have different hemispheres
I thought and loved in often opposing times zones.

We attract magnetic bees,
acting surprised when stung.

Life is a dice game you
gave me too many chances in.

I started the flood of our argument,
You started the rain that overcame us,
we were refugees of our own selves
waiting for Mardi Gras beads to hang on to but
dead Indonesians haven't stopped floating.
There are cities of memories we left underwater.
Funny thing about floods, there are
usually more casualties after than during.

Life isn't a gamble,
gambling is an addiction,
addictions require dependency,
once broken, hearts see value
in what they wasted away.
Love requires committed independency.

Bees see corpses around bug zappers,
but some attractions are just so great.

I'm not sorry that we didn't work out,
I just want you to know,
during the extra sunrise of that leap year,
I found the snowflake.

The bigger picture is no longer puzzling.
The relationship failed
we did not, I'm still standing,
you're looking strong.
I'm happy for you,
we've moved on.

You were right, I was wrong.
I was right, you were wrong,
the arguments aren't important,
forgiveness is, self and otherwise.

It's about time our hearts and minds,
synchronized again, but in a new way.
The great thing about snow, isn't its cold,
it's how it feeds the growth of something

after it melts.

Schedule starting 2011

2010-11-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

More details will be provided soon. Come out if you want a copy of Quills of Fire and/or People of the Water, just to support, or to simply have a good time.

12-28-10 Kuumba's Cove, 9-11pm, $5 dollar cover. Pieces from Quills,People of the Water, and new material.

1-14-11 Manilla Bay Cafe,9-11pm,New poems,some from Quills and P.O.W, as well as a musical feature.

1-28-11 Sweet Epiphany Detroit,9pm-12am,new pieces,favorites from Quills and P.O.W. as well as a poetry slam.

2-1-11 Kuumba's Cove, 9-11pm, $5 dollar cover. Pieces from Quills, P.O.W. and new material.

2-11-11 Opener for event with Poetry House literary group, more details to come.

2-19-11 The Druken Muse,4-6pm,Literary reading and discussion of Quills of Fire.

2-27-11 Sweet Epiphany Detroit,9pm-12am

Manilla Bay Cafe

2010-11-28T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'll be a featured reader at the Manilla Bay Cafe on January 13,2011. Come out and support as I share a set of pieces from People of the Water, Quills of Fire and some newer surprises that I have in store. Months after the release of my first chapbook and album and i've already begun getting waist deep in my next creative project. If you want to see a sneak preview of what's going to be a part of it you're not going to want to miss this. It's a $10 dollar cover, for food, art and fun. Hope to see you all there.

Thanks

2010-11-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

The first Roses and Revolutions Poetry Slam was a huge success despite the university's power problems. I'd like to thank everyone involved who competed, supported, and contributed both to making it happen and helped us raise funds for the homeless and impoverished. Another congrats to the slam victor Lucky Lefty, and plans are being put in place for another to be held at the finale of Black History Month. More details will come soon.

I'd also like to thank everyone for the encouragement given to the team of Gabe da Poet and I at T.Miller's Big Ass Poetry Slam event. The whole evening was great and the event proved to be an exciting experience.

Also thanks to everyone who have supported my ongoing venture with the varsity news. I've been constantly flooded with positive feedback in regards to my work with the paper. I am humbled and grateful for that. I was very wary of it at first but it is an experience i'm glad to not have passed up on.

There has been a lot of big things that have happened over the course of this year, and i'm thankful for everyone who in one way or another has helped my growth as a person and poet.

Roses and Revolutions Poetry Slam

2010-10-31T06:18:00.000-07:00

Omega Psi Phi, African American Student Association and Sweet Epiphany Detroit are sponsoring the Roses and Revolutions Poetry Slam, here to smash UDM's campus. Be there for some of the most talented poets the city has to offer. Admission is free although donations will be asked to keep future versions alive.This event is also to help the homeless and those in impoverished situations, if you can donate canned goods to help those in need it is encouraged that you bring those.

New Book Releases

2010-10-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

My first chapbook Quills of Fire is completed and released. Copies are being sold for $10. It's a must grab purchase of poetry and prose i've written. Other great publications that are out recently now include Dreams of a Beginner by Natasha T. Miller. She's a phenomenal poet and this book of quotes is a must buy that will lure you into reading multiple times through. They also make great prompts for poems, or creative writing in general. Another is The Confession Booth by Gabe "the poet" Green. This is this young man's second publication and is also a must read.

Quills of Fire can be purchased through me, Dreams of a Beginner may also be bought through T.Miller at a price of $12 but can be paid for through paypal and it can be sent to you. The Confession Booth may be bought through Gabe or Amazon at a price of $10.

Poets Follies Series

2010-09-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Deonte Osayande will be reading at the Poets Follies Series sponsored by Marick Press October 21st,2010. He will be alongside phenomenal poets Ber-Henda Williams and Mark James Andrew doing poems from his debut album People of the Water as well as new never before seen or heard poems from his book he is currently working on. The reading starts at 6:30 and ends at 8:30, with a question and answer period between the poets and the audience members. Hope to see you all there.

September, The Fall and an Autumn Dawn

2010-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with my mentor poet mother at the African World Festival. This was a beautiful event which to me was also a reminder that the summer was coming to an end.The school year is coming back up but there is still plenty going on.

Unfortunately the collaboration album with poet "Untitled" is to again be postponed for a later release but it is not over. It is still happening just that other projects and responsibilities are requiring more time. The album People of the Water is out, selling for only 10 dollars and featuring 19 great tracks of poetry and artistic journey.

I will be featuring at well known Detroit venue They Say Thursday, September 2nd. There i'll do poems from the album and also new ones i've written since. Following that I feature Wednesday September 8th at the Sweet Epiphany poetry lounge. Here i'll do a second set of poetry both from the album and other new ones, and I have a few surprises for this one. Later in the month i'll be a performer at Peace Day in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is a celebration of ethnic and cultural diversity, acceptance and equality.

Outside of poetry,i've gotten the honorable privledge of being nominated as Presidential Ambassador for University of Detroit Mercy's College of Liberal Arts and Education (CLAE). There will be plenty of other events that I will attend representing my peers and school. I'm also looking forward to a new occupation working with the schools newspaper. More details will be provided on that later.

The future is what we make it,despite everything going on in the world we can make a brighter day. Hope to hear from you all in the days to come.

New Releases

2010-07-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while but this summer has been moving by so fast and has been so busy. I've done a couple out of town shows and plenty around the city and hope for more in the future but there is a more important bit of news than that.

This Saturday at my feature at Che Cosa Coffehouse in Mt.Clemons will be the release of my debut poetry album People of the Water. Also in the beginning of September the collaboration album between Christopher "Untitled" Jones and I titled Heroes Die Young will be coming out.

More than just doing shows and selling Cd's there are other plans in the works to not just speak on issues and bring them to the forefront, but to also do something about it. As I frequently say,I don't consider myself an entertainer but rather an artist and once things are solidified it will only be a matter of time before actions are taken to remedy all the plights that are put out before us.

Newly Published Poem

2010-06-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

I finally wrote something about my aforementioned experience last summer and it was just recently published at this link.

http://www.troubadour21.com/poetry/deonteosayande/a-lions-roar/

Updates

2010-06-03T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hey,
been really busy recently and a lot has changed over the past month.
Personally and as far as Track and Field goes everything has been on the up and up.
Just keeping things up to date

TBA-I'm currently in works on a collaborative album with local poet Christopher "Untitled" Jones and on my own individual recording of poems.

June 19th,2010-I'll be the featured poet at Times Square Deli,on hoover between 11 and 12 mile road,from 7:30 until and it's free.

TBA-The date is yet to be determined but I will also be featuring at The Russell Bazaar on a saturday to be announced soon

TBA-I'll start a website that i'll actually update some time soon once there is actually time to sort out everything and post a free online chapbook of poetry.

Sorry it's so many things still yet to be announced, i've just been experiencing a lot of positive changes and happenings going on and this is a quick rundown on the new poetry updates.

Renaissance City Online Magazine

2010-04-24T22:47:00.000-07:00

Two poems i've written were accepted in the Renaissance City Online Arts Magazine for their second issue. See the link on the side for the site where this can be viewed.

Undefined: A poem about Poets

2010-04-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Undefined

People,
Parading around pain
is not poetry. The point
which where we

draw our lines and rays
towards the sun
is being missed.
We are parenting parallelograms
with uneven sides and angles
that appear in acute ways
but are so far obtuse
that it cannot be right.

Relating modern music
or society to slavery
doesn’t make an awesome African American
poem unless providing a solution.
We are a people tattooed in torture
but fully sitting in the seat
to allow someone to etch sorrow in our skin.

The color of our paper is conspiring
in classes and behind pages of anthologies
stating that we should not write
about experiences that are definitely there.

If poetry is only old, dead, male and white,
than by no means is what is scribed bow
that. It is illustrations of egg shells
hatched and broken at birth
making mosaics out of story.
It is a problem we aren’t taught
to solve, but to just show the work
that brought us to the conclusion,

Undefined.

A mean rhyme scheme
may seem
to beam what we deem
supreme poetry or lyrics
but it is no more than the tune
of the Orcas in the ocean
echoing sounds,
it isn’t their original voices.

If you must be woman than be more
than a queen, be a goddess for goodness sake.
Sculpt yourself in the mud
made from your earth bearing womb and tears.
You will be judged until you
bake cakes of demons with your face
and see rain clouds in your car,
and after all that like
Sylvia and Anne
they will still judge you.

You are greater than that
you are our Lourdes and Angelou.
You are a heaven
battling hells they refuse to read.

If you must be a hue of man
than douse yourself in it’s
bottomless bucket of splendor
and paint with the brushes
borrowing down from
your hardened knuckles.

If you be young and White
than don yourself as a cloud
and fly into forever rather
than be as unmoving and unchanging
as your marble predecessors.
Be uniquely you, undefined.

If you be Black know your possibilities
are as endless as the night sky.
Don’t be confined in corners
like shadows any longer
because eventually there will be
light coming to erase you.

If you are Asian know now
that the origami unfolded
has always brought
wise willows and wonderful words.
Your history is as rich
as any others and always will be.

If you are Latino
raging bulls are awaiting
to be released from the salsa
sitting inside of your veins.
Do not allow yourself
to be overlooked.

If you hail from the Middle East
the desert is not empty
but filled with a treasured legacy
endowed to you. Your words rejected
by the canon of the European
have been powerful cannons of their own for ages.

And all else must remember that this
undefined art we create
is made of nothing more
than the ink welled in our eyes,
the lead resonating in our bones,
and the stanzas stretching the strength of our muscles.

We can’t be defined into
experiences of the excruciating,
memories of the melodious,
intelligent images in sentences
or stories structured in Sestinas.

Our work will remain as diverse
as the people who read them.
We will continue to collide
planets of thought
over what is and is not something
that we don’t really have the power to decide.

We are undefined,
a quantity of infinity equal only to quality.
We are undefined,
a question unanswered because it can’t be.
We are undefined,
and this is our definition.

Broadside Press Theatre, Sunday April 18th, 2010

2010-04-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

This Sunday the Dudley Randall Center for Print Culture and Broadside Press Poets' Theater will host the winners of this year’s Dudley Randall Poetry Competition, Brandon Clark, Alex Jones, and Deonte Osayande. The reading will be followed by an open mic session. This event is free and open to the public.

Broadside Press Poets' Theater takes place on UDM's McNichols Campus the third Sunday of each month. For more information, contact Rosemary Weatherston, Director, Dudley Randall Center for Print Culture at weatherr@udmercy.edu. We hope you can join us.

About the Poets:

Brandon Clark has been a writer since he was in the 5th grade. He just took third place in the Dudley Randall Poetry Contest. He also is one of the founding members of Rhymes with Orange Poetry Collective (alongside Alex Jones and Deonte Osayande) who have read their poetry at the 2009 Symposium of the Society of the Study of Midwestern Literature at Michigan State University. Has been a poetry feature at open mics at the University of Detroit Mercy. Brandon is currently majoring in English with a minor in philosophy.

Alex Jones is this year's first place winner of the Dudley Randall Poetry competition. He has been published in the Metro Times as well as [sic], UDM's student literary journal. He also served on the editorial board for [sic]'s latest issue. Alex has been a featured reader at the Byte This poetry series at Cliff Bell's Jazz Lounge. He is also a founding member of Metro Detroit area poetry collective Rhymes With Orange, who read at the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature's annual symposium at Michigan State University in 2009. Alex has been scribbling creatively in some form or another since 6th grade, and possibly earlier. He is now a Senior English major at the University of Detroit Mercy and will be seeking a Master of Fine Arts after a year off following graduation.

Deonte Osayande comes from a family of educators and activists and has been writing for a bit over two years. He just finished in second in the Dudley Randall Poetry Contest and also finished in second in the University of Detroit Mercy’s Howling Wolf Chapbook Contest. He has read at the Converging Aesthetics display at the University of Toledo, been featured at many poetry venues around the city of Detroit, and had poems published at multiple online quarterlies. He is a graduate of the Broadside Press Institute of Cultural Studies and is an instructor at the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute’s Pathways to Freedom summer program. He is currently working with Broadside Press to complete his first chapbook of poems and is currently majoring in Elementary Education with a focus in Mathematics and English.

Dr. Rosemary Weatherston
Associate Professor of English
Co-Director, Women's & Gender Studies Program
University of Detroit Mercy
4001 W McNichols Road
Detroit, MI 48221-3038
p: 313.993.1083
f: 313.993.1166

What's been going on

2010-04-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a lot going on since my last post. It's been a really busy and trying time and there will be more to come in the near future. I came in second prize in the Dudley Randall Poetry Contest and two of my fellow poets and friends came in first and third. A manuscript I had written came in second place in the Detroit Mercy Howling Wolf chapbook contest. It probably won't be published in that current form, but i've already began revisions and expansion of that into a full book. Last monday I was part of a semi-final slam for the Detroit national slam team,and I didn't make it in one of the most star studded fields of poets here in the city.Regardless the rundown of stuff i'm trying to get going are as follows.

My poet mother,Ms.Aurora Harris' mom recently passed away and there will be a memorial service soon,either her or I will let you know at a later time.Some time after that and she's been able to heal from this sad time we can get together and finish my first chapbook hopefully to be out this summer.

May 7th-This year's' poetry slam master and dear friend, Omari "king wise" barksdale has deemed the 10 most underrated poets in the city of Detroit. This group of poets (myself included) will be featuring at the Neo Minds Poetry Venue at the 5E art Gallery as a fundraiser for the Detroit National Slam Team.

May 14th-The founding members of the poetry collective Rhymes with Orange (Brandon Clark,Alex Jones and Myself) will be performing and reading our poetry at the Confrence of the studies of Midwestern Literature at the campus of Michigan State University.

More to come soon after things have been sorted out.

Black Women Rock

2010-03-12T13:14:00.000-08:00

Black Women Rock! Debuts in Detroit at the Charles H. Wright Museum

DETROIT – February 23, 2010 – Renowned poet, writer and performer jessica Care moore and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History present Black Women Rock! A Tribute to Betty Davis, a multi-media live music concert, dialogue and master class to take place the weekend of March 27th and 28th.

In 2005, Care moore produced Black Women Rock! A Tribute to Rock Icon Betty Davis in conjunction with The National Black Arts Festival to showcase young, independent women artists of color who made a living as composers, guitarists, vocalists, producers and arts educators in the genre of Rock and Roll. These contemporary artists defy the stereotype of what a rock and roll artist looks and sounds like, and are the spiritual descendents of Betty Davis, Tina Turner, Nona Hendrix, Patti Labelle Maxanne, and Janis Joplin. These trailblazing pioneers have spent their careers fighting biases and breaking down barriers of image, politics and sexuality in the music industry.

“This event will celebrate their music and inspire young women to not just be a “part” of the music industry, but to build an institution around their work,” says Care moore.

On Saturday, March 27th at 8 pm, Black Women Rock! premieres in Detroit at the Charles H. Wright Museum with full band performances by Imani Uzuri, Tamar Kali, Steffanie Christi'an, and jessica Care moore. On Sunday, March 28th at 1 pm, Care moore and Piper Carter will lead an intimate conversation with local greats such as Monica Blaire for aspiring female musicians who write, play or sing music. As curator, jessica Care moore is excited to introduce these strong, feminine voices to the city of Detroit.

“I’ve known these artists for years. Imani Uzuri is our Nina Simone, our Bessie Smith and she’s performed all over the world. Steffanie Christi’an is a powerhouse vocalist who still lives here! It’s important for young girls to know these women exist, and to teach them how they can have successful music careers and write their own terms; in effect, define their destiny in life.”

The night will also feature a collection of women in history from The Black History 101 Mobile Museum, the Museums rotunda will display an original art exhibition created by NY based painter, Renaldo Davidson who will also be in attendance. Chicago’s Marcia Jones and Detroit artist, Sabrina Nelson will provide live art both days. Sounds provided by DJ Chaka Rae. The event will be live streamed around the world courtesy of Mind Mobile Mafia.

Both events are FREE and open to the public. For more information, please call (313) 494-5800 or jessica Care moore: direct: 313 974 5111 or detroitbutterfly@gmail.com.

Who is Betty Davis?
A wildly flamboyant funk diva with few equals three decades after her debut, Betty Davis combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futuristic fashion sense of David Bowie, and the trendsetting flair of Miles Davis, her husband for a year. It's easy to imagine the snickers when a 23-year-old model married a famous musician twice her age, but Davis was no gold digger; she turned Miles onto Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, providing the spark that led to his musical reinvention on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, then proved her own talents with a trio of sizzling mid-'70s solo LPs.

jessica Care moore
An internationally renowned poet, publisher, literary activist, performance artist, playwright and actor, jessica is a five-time Showtime at the Apollo winner. She was featured on hip-hop mega-star, Nas' "Nastradamus" album, and is a returning star of Russell Simmons’ HBO Series, Def Poetry Jam. jessica has been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Blaze, Source, and Vibe.

Imani Uzuri
Frequently compared to artists like Grace Jones and Nina Simone, vocalist/composer/performer Imani Uzuri has collaborated with Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Talib Kweli, and Sly and Robbie; performed on "David Letterman" with Peter Gabriel; and appeared at venues such as Central Park Summerstage, Barbican Center and ICA (London), Le Lieu Unique (France), World Festival of Sacred Music (Japan), The United Nations, Apollo Theater, Kazan Live Festival (Russia/Tatarstan) and Festival d’Essaouira (Morocco).

Steffanie Christi’an
Fusing the musical influence of such greats as Janis Joplin, Prince, Bob Marley and Tori Amos, Christi’an’s talents have been noticed by Eminem, Erykah Badu and Amp Fiddler. Steffanie is currently touring as a background vocalist and percussionist with Jocaine & 75 North, who have appeared with artists such as Uncle Kracker, Ty Herndon, Brett Micheals, Tantric, SheDaisy and country legend David Allen Coe.

Tamar-kali
Whether channeling Billie Holiday or Bad Brains, Brooklyn native and resident hardcore-soul queen Tamar-kali wields her pen and guitar with equal ferocity. This fiercely independent performer has graced the stages of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Lincoln Center.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

MEDIA CONTACT:

April Woodard

Focal Point Media Group

(313) 623-3694

focalpointmedia@gmail.com

Artist Imo Imeh in NYC

2010-03-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

A good friend and big brother of mine, artist Imo Nse Imeh is being displayed in New York City. I met him during an open mic here in Detroit when the feature was another mutual friend of ours poet David Ragland. He was impressed with some of my poetry and I was invited to recite while at his art exhibit for the University of Toledo. Now he's in the display "Wearing Spirit". "Wearing Spirit" is a group show curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis in NYC, running March 11 - May 21, 2010. He is one of 25 artists featured in the show. His contribution was a large painting titled "Mechanisms in Uyai" (48 x 96 Inches, Mixed Media on Canvas). His work discusses the Ibibio philosophical and aesthetic traditions of seclusion and ritual fattening by way of the mbopo sorority. It describes the newfound post-seclusion identity of the "fattened bride" as icon.

Female-Artist-Scholar-Activist? What is That?

2010-03-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

President's Dining Room, 7 p.m.-9:p.m.
The UDM Women and Gender Studies Program
presents : "Female-Artist-Scholar-Activist"? What is that?

Are academic culture and social activism incompatible? What motivates minority women artists and educators to spend their lives working for social justice? Why is there so little research available on the lives of such women? What strategies and inspirations can todays artists, activists, and educators draw from their experiences?

Aurora Harris will discuss these and other intriguing questions in a presentation drawn from her thesis, A Multicultural Exploration of Female Scholar-Activist Artists In Detroit, Michigan. This interview-based study examines the consciousness-shaping experiences and lives of Ms. Michele Gibbs (Russell), Ms. Lolita Hernandez, Dr. Gloria House, and Ms. Emily Lawsin--four minority women artists and educators deeply engaged in our local, national, and international struggles over race, gender, and class.

Ms. Harris's talk will be followed by a panel discussion with Ms. Hernandez, Dr. House, and Ms. Lawsin and an audience question-and-answer session. This event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served. For more information contact Rosemary Weatherston, Co-Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program (weatherr@udmercy.edu / 313.993.1083).

About the Speaker:

Aurora Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan and is of African American Filipina heritage. She received a M.A. in Social Foundations of Education with a concentration in Cultural Studies from Eastern Michigan University and a B.A. in Sociology from Wayne State University. Ms Harris is an award winning, internationally known published poet, educator, mentor, and community worker. Her poetry regarding women, labor, jazz, African American and Filipino life appears in several poetry anthologies. Ms Harris serves as a Board member for Broadside Press and is the hostess of the Broadside Press Poets Theater at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

Journal Notes from meeting Ambassador to African Union

2010-02-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

Back last May I had the pleasure of meeting the Ambassador to the African Union alongside my mentor. She was impressed because I was quite frankly the least qualified to be there,in a room of business representatives when we went around and introduced ourselves all I could say was I was a student and spoken word poet willing to do whatever possible to help our brothers from the homeland. I took notes of the whole speech and information she had for those present in my journal.I planned on writing about it and I haven't yet but I still plan to one day.I now share this journal entry of mine with you all here, and hopefully we can still find a way to help.

May 21st,2009

Several financial systems effect trade.
Immigration decision-Harmonize moving toward creating a federation,at least 19 members,creating a parliament,similar to a United States of Africa

goal-an African government,estabilishing trade partners,aquiring one united capital to move and facilitate trade

youth-high percentage of youth,the only continent with more youths than adults,presents employment challenges for the greatest asset young people,need sources and centers of excellence to aid them in modernizing Africa

Challenges-25% of the worlds global illness cases occur here,many children are orphaned by those killed by AIDS and Malaria,most live in rural areas whereas only the rich and city dwellers have the access everyone needs to healthcare facilities

Health Insurance and Social Security do not exist within the continent,but the African Union wants to change this

Life expectancy in the continent as a whole is 50 years of age,in America it is in the high 70's

Now is the time for Africa to enter global affairs as equal partner,not charity case,openess to both Eastern and Western ideas and nations

There are 192 countries in the world,54 of which are in Africa,only 4 are board members within the 67 that meet with the U.N.

350 million of the 850 million people on the continent are young and uneducated.

Welcome

2010-02-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Blog site of Deonte Osayande.I'm an athlete at my university,a performance poet and writer. Alongside regular life balancing these and other responsibilities gets really difficult but I hope to at least share the poet side here and relieve some of the weight. At least weekly I'll post websites and news articles I find important, people trying to do positively not only in my Detroit environment but in the world and new poems i'll be working on that i'll probably choose not to submit anywhere,not to mention where i'll be performing,writing prompts,personal stories and any new publications.I'm still relatively new to this so bare with me here. :)

Support Troubadour 21

2010-02-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

This is some of my poems published online by troubadour 21,mostly experimental and love pieces.They are in the transition of acquiring non-profit organization status.If you can help than please do.

http://www.troubadour21.com/author/deonteosayande/

Support Slam Idol and the voices of the people

2010-02-23T22:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to a video reading of one of my older poems,the Seventh Dance. It was recently in an online slam with slam idol aired from England.It's about young suicides,remember to take care of your loved ones and support them.

http://slamidol.com/?6c6d56c0