Saturday, October 1, 2011
Updates
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/
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Slam Team Bios
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.
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.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Freewrite
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
This Week
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/
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/
Monday, May 9, 2011
Next Project
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.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Thanks
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.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
When the rain stops
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.
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.
Monday, March 21, 2011
100 Things About Me In 400 Words Or Less
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
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
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.
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.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Mysteries
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.
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.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
20 Things I Learned Before the Age of 20
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.
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.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
20 Things I learned before age 10
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.
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.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Malcolm's Poem
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.
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
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.
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.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Battle of Ohio
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.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
The Triple Threat: Battle of Columbus and Detroit
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.
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.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Nommo Presents Deonte Osayande
Has been postponed until further notice because of the impeding snow storm. The new date will be released when it's determined.
Friday, January 28, 2011
World Events
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?
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?
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