Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word

NYC Monday Night Open Mic @ The Parkside Lounge - Music, Poetry, Comedy, Spoken Word

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 19:02:00 +0000

NYC's hottest open mic in one of NYC's hottest performance venues - The Inspired Word @ the newly renovated Parkside Lounge!

Age limit: 21+ (Must bring valid ID)

When: EVERY Monday Night
Where: The Parkside Lounge
http://www.parksidelounge.net/
317 E. Houston Street
Manhattan, New York 10002
Time: 7pm

This Monday hosted by award-winning singer/songwriter Sylvana Joyce and featuring singer/songwriter Jessica Rowboat.

Sylvana Joyce

Jessica Rowboat

Full backline. Honky-tonk piano (feel free to bring your own keyboard). Cool stage. Comfy cabaret-style seating. Cheap drinks, including the Bailout Package (shot of whisky + 22-ounce beer) for only 8$.

You can pay for tickets online via https://nycmondayopenmic.eventbrite.com (to guarantee a slot) or at the door.

Early Bird Special:
ONLY $6 for solo performer or audience member + 2 FREE non-performer friends if you buy your ticket at least 3 days prior to event night. Limited Availability. No transfers or refunds.

***1 DRINK MINIMUM INSIDE VENUE PER PERSON***

Produced by the long-running Inspired Word open mic series, which has featured Grammy winners, American Idol finalists, Golden Globe Award winners, Obie Award winners, Emmy nominated actors, and HBO stars, The Inspired Word open mic is open to ALL types of performing artists - comedians, musicians, storytellers, singers, poets, fiction/nonfiction writers, playwrights, spoken word artists, performance artists, dancers.

25 slots, 7 minutes apiece for anything spoken, 8 minutes for singers/musicians (if you have backing tracks bring them on either mp3 player or smartphone).

A warm, supportive community of artists. Real crowds. And a great place to network.

This is a very popular open mic. We STRONGLY suggest you purchase a ticket in advance to guarantee a performance slot.

*****

Directions
By Subway: Take the F to Second Avenue. Go up the 1st Avenue stairs and head East on Houston Street.

*****
Produced by Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word
inspiredwordnyc.com

War For Sale - Original Song by NYC Singer/Songwriter Jade Zabric

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 17:45:00 +0000

War For Sale by Jade Zabric w/ Phi432

Jade Zabric is a singer/songwriter born and raised in Houston who now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is also an Air Force veteran. Her website can be found @ http://jadezabric.com/.

Why Is a Poem...? -- Poem by NYC Poet Luis "Storyteller" Cordova

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 17:31:00 +0000

Why Is A Poem...

Why is a poem the only form of therapy we poets cling to when expressing our loss of a loved one?

As if a stanza can ever wipe my tears for the life of my daughter.
Syllables will never know the breath I would give to hear her laughter once more.

I wish I knew the answer.
The answer to why sonnets are the closest thing to a rhythm of her heartbeat.
She used to grab my fingers like pens and I would tickle her into stories for my journal.
I used to keep a journal.
I stopped once I noticed my fingers would get shaky every time I opened it.
Her eyes were either green or blue, but I'm certain it was green.
It's hard to remember when photos kissed a flame after the tragedy, and I'm looking at 6+ years without even a glance of her marble shaped eyes.

I'm afraid to fall asleep because I'm afraid of forgetting more.
Do you remember when I said her eyes were green?
She had the radiance of a horizon brown sunset no haiku could ever fathom.
What does that have to do with green?
Absolutely nothing, I just want to make sure to never forget the color that often stared at me.
Even though I'm choosing to write this in poetry form and share it with you, I'm actually doing this for me.
I happen to be one of those poets who finds comfort in the morgue of a poetry piece.
From loved ones to ideas.
Dreams and emotions.
Expectations and desires.
If the graveyard is said to be the richest place, then poetry is the one who lives in it.
We are the ones who come when rent is due.
It pays us in reminiscing on tragedies more often than laughter.
A poem is a dirty cracked mirror we can't help but use to see how we look before stepping on stage or writing on page.
And I swear, I can still see my daughter's smile when I blink for just a second longer than a tear whenever I stand in front of that very mirror.

When you read or hear a poem, remember that it is always a confession.
We admit more in poetry than we do when thinking to ourselves.
Why do you think that happens?
It's because we are too afraid to speak it aloud; we use poetry as a gateway into honesty and admittance and it's sad.

When you can know about the lost of my daughter sooner than knowing my full name.
I ask you again, why is a poem the only form of therapy we poets cling to when expressing the loss of a loved one?

Brooklyn, New York's Luis "Storyteller" Cordova is a spoken word poet who blends classical style of poetry with modern display of performance. Claiming to be the illegitimate poetic child of Maya Angelou and Walt Whitman, he says he "breathes metaphors in the ribs of personification" to bring about imagination to everyday situations.

NYC Poetry Night @ Hauser & Wirth Art Gallery (Ozbolt Exhibition) - FREE

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 21:00:00 +0000

The InspiredWordNYC open mic series and the Hauser & Wirth Manhattan art gallery present a poetry night on the occasion of the Djordje Ozbolt exhbition More paintings about poets and food (which is a play on the album title "More songs about buildings and food," by the Talking Heads).

Hosted by Poetry Teachers NYC founder/poet Megan DiBello.

When: Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015

Time: 7pm

Where: Hauser & Wirth
http://www.hauserwirth.com/
32 East 69th Street
Manhattan, NY

Doors open at 7pm, open mic begins at 7:30.

Please dress appropriately. RSVP REQUIRED for entrance into the event via http://artgallerypoetryopenmic.eventbrite.com/.

There will be refreshments and a variety of hors d'oeuvres.
Hauser & Wirth is a contemporary art gallery with locations worldwide. ‘More paintings about poets and food’ is the gallery’s first New York exhibition devoted to the internationally admired London-based artist, Djordje Ozbolt. The exhibition includes new paintings, sculptures and works on paper by the artist, and is on view at Hauser & Wirth’s 69th Street location through 21 February 2015.

Ozbolt is influenced by poetry, and incorporates stream of consciousness and free association play into his practice, while addressing varied themes of pop culture, politics, fantasy, and self-exploration. The night is a celebration and cross-pollination of art forms. Poets and spoken word artists will perform in the gallery space, surrounded by the surrealist, absurd, and humorous works of Djordje Ozbolt. Join us for an exciting evening of poetry, art, and conversation.
The Ozbolt exhbition runs from Jan. 14 to Feb. 21, 2015.

http://www.hauserwirth.com/exhibitions/2361/djordje-ozbolt-more-paintings-about-poets-and-food/view/

Open mic produced by Mike Geffner Presents The Inspired Word
http://InspiredWordNYC.com

Live Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:00:00 +0000

NYC Singer/Songwriter Janna Pelle - City Life (Official Video Release)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 21:04:00 +0000

Visit http://www.jannapelle.com/ and buy the single @ https://jannapelle.bandcamp.com/track/city-life.

Are You Addicted to Facebook? Admit It, You Are

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 20:30:00 +0000

The Artist's Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 21:00:00 +0000

Poem: Machu Picchu By Yesenia Guerra

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 20:50:00 +0000

Machu Picchu

Riding on the wings
of a condor,
I returned home
to lush
green
splendor
to this mountain retreat
I surrender.
The sundial marking the time
Inti showing only
a reflection on the Earth
Practicing the same ritual
of being a priestess
since birth.
Fortress of agricultural riches
Rainbow present at the marriage
of the sun and the moon
Stars aligned

as the calendar predicted.
The birds sing the chorus
while the Urumbamba river
keeps the beat
cloudy mountain mist
the perfect backdrop.
Chewing on the coca
Pachamama’s blessing
Overseeing the ceremony
for them to be wed
Inca adorned in royalty red
Puma at his feet
protecting the ruler’s seat
Snake rising above the ground
The Andean cross trinity
The sun and moon
united for infinity
Machu Picchu
the remnant of a
civilization’s divinity.

@YeseniaGuerra2014

Yesenia Guerra is enamored by language. She is a passionate poet and teacher living in New Jersey. Her blog can be found @ https://lapoetaflor.wordpress.com/.

NYC Singer/Songwriter Janna Pelle's New Song Teaser - City Life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jan 2015 18:29:00 +0000

Janna Pelle is the love child of Tori Amos and Lady Gaga with the alter-ego of David Byrne. Her mission is to free you from being trapped in your own body.

Check out Janna's website @ http://www.jannapelle.com/ and follow her on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/JannaPelle and Twitter @ https://twitter.com/jannapelle.

Sí.Nik Productions - Sponsor/The Inspired Word's 5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 16:19:00 +0000

Honored that Simone Nikkole’s Sí.Nik Productions signed on as one of the sponsors for The Inspired Word's 5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza. Simone is a wonderful poet as well as a loyal supporter of the arts. Her company's mission statement, "Feed Your Soul, Inspire Your Mind," gives you a glimpse into what she is all about. Freedom of Expression, Creativity, Sensuality, Empowerment, Inspiration and Positivity are Sí.Nik's guiding principles. For more info, check out https://www.facebook.com/Si.NikPro. You can also email sinikpro@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @sinikpro/Instagram @azucarpoetisa205.

Malini Singh McDonald's Theatre Beyond Broadway - Sponsor/5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:30:00 +0000

Malini Singh McDonald's Theatre Beyond Broadway has signed on as a sponsor for The Inspired Word's 5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza.

In 2003, Malini Singh McDonald began sending emails to her friends letting them know which friends were doing what shows throughout New York City. They would then get together and theatre hop in support. Many emails later, Malini thought “An email newsletter system would make my life easier.”

That was in July, 2012. After launching the Theatre Beyond Broadway newsletter, the response was great. What started outat started out as an invitation to her friends’ shows in Manhattan and Queens expanded to great independent and local theatre in the 5 boroughs, Long Island, and surrounding areas. Theatre Beyond Broadway provides a platform to promote and support independent artists, groups, and productions; and all the theatre that happens beyond the bright lights of Broadway.

In addition to providing this free service, Malini also offers Marketing & PR Packages for you and your show.

Find Theatre Beyond Broadway on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheatreBeyondBroadway/ and Twitter @ https://twitter.com/malinism and check out the website @ http://theatrebeyondbroadway.com/.

You can also email Malini @ theatrebeyondbway@gmail.com.

GetNyce/Cupcake Cartel NYC - Sponsor/5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 20:15:00 +0000

GetNyce/Cupcake Cartel NYC has signed on as one of the sponsors for The Inspired Word's 5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza. Trust me, these cupcakes are absolutely amazing. GetNyce/Cupcake Cartel NYC provides catering for all events weddings, birthday parties and more, as well as makes custom cupcake stands for your special occasion. Connect with them on Facebook, Instagram or email them @ cupcakecartel08@gmail.com.

AJ Simpkins' SNOFH Productions - Sponsor/5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:41:00 +0000

AJ Joyce Simpkins and her SNOFH Productions has signed on as a sponsor for The Inspired Word's 5-Year Anniversary Extravaganza on Saturday, Jan. 17. She's good people and a wonderful artist, and host events, including open mics, in the Bronx and Westchester County, NY. Connect with her and her production company on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/alic.simpkins and @ https://www.facebook.com/SpeakNowOrForeverHold.

Email her for more info @ speaknowataj@gmail.com.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:06:00 +0000

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

Interview with 3Po3try NYC Poet Audrey Dimola - July 31 Summer Poetry Extravaganza

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 15:31:00 +0000

Audrey Dimola 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).

Infinitely curious and hell-bent on painting her world in the brightest colors possible, Dimola is a proudly 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 organized the first ever Queens Literary Town Hall at Queens Council on the Arts, bringing together the brightest literary lights in her home borough, and has curated arts events for Queens Museum and LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. She is one of the hosts of the Inspired Word's Wednesday night open mic @ COFFEED in Long Island City, Queens, and is currently finishing up work on her second book, "Traversals," set for release in Fall 2014.

Find out more about Audrey @ http://audreydimola.com and follow her on Twitter @ audreydwrites and Instagram @ audreyleopard.

The following is our quick interview with Ms. Dimola (who, like a lot of poets, eschews capitalized words and is particularly playful with punctuation):

What’s your definition of poetry?

poetry is the heart speaking – and the heart doesn’t always work with logic, with rationale, within limits. poetry – it’s mesmerizing, it’s lyrical, it’s useful, it’s abstract, it’s mystical, it’s profound. revelatory. poetry is trying to put the infinite onto a page. convey the ache, the joy, the longing.. break a shaft of light into a series of words. remember a summer evening. a first kiss. a last embrace. play with form, play with meaning, play with possibility. that’s the thing about it i love most – you can PLAY.

What one word describes your writing style?

"electroluminescent" - luminescence produced electrically! which for me translates to two hugely important forces in my world, my being, my work: light and energy! that, or just straight-up "ache" - because ache is intensity of FEELING, both beautiful or terrible. unbearable - you can ache for what's lost or ache from pure joy..

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

it’s definitely the immortal in the mortal frame. there is a mysticism about it but it’s always tied to emotion. longing, ache in every sense of the word, nostalgia, freedom. tangling with god, with the beyond, with limits, with our memories. it churns out in images.. the natural world is always a mirror for me.

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

an explosion in the heart.. a dead-on suckerpunch and a sloppy, lingering kiss afterwards. ha! honestly - it's something you can't forget. it's something that hits you hard, lifts you up, makes you thankful you read it, or wish you could be that brave - something people from all backgrounds can appreciate and grasp onto, not just poetry fans or lit lovers. i love flowery words and visceral images, but also poems that are deceivingly simple but profound - something you can take with you, something you can USE.

What's your best writing moment? What's your worst writing moment?

best is letting it flow. the words that come over me like a mystic sensation - that just tumble out of me, and i let them be. i feel like they're coasting off from the current of the universe..

worst is trying too hard, judging myself.

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

such an amazing and difficult question! the line i have in my email signature is from kabir: "if you don't break your ropes while you're alive, do you think ghosts will do it after?" wow.

What’s your favorite place to write?

writing always comes out of restlessness for me. either an excitement bursting out of bones, a shock of resonance from the universe, a sense of ennui i can’t shake. it’s always coming out of that motion – either pacing the sidewalk with no shoes, scribbling on the train, sprawling in the grass, lurking in the memory of someplace somewhere else. i love writing outside or against a window. i love physically writing on everything (vandalism, shhh) – but i always come back to a good ol’, battered up, sticker-covered notebook. you always do, with a mind that never stops. i find that movement informs my writing – words come to me while doing yoga, riding my bike, swimming.. i have to stop and find ways to capture the words before they dart away!

What's the weirdest place you ever wrote?

honestly i don't think any place is weird, necessarily - writing is like breathing and it happens all the time, everywhere.. in bed next to your sleeping lover, in the car, in the bathroom! i CAN tell you a strange place some words of mine ended up - stuck in the form of a poetry sticker (from my compass project http://tinyurl.com/compassproject), on a bulldozer!

What's the weirdest thing you ever wrote on?

this immediately makes me think of writing all over everything with sharpie. the world is my notebook! just the other day i wrote on a broken lamppost.

What comes easy to you with poetry?

sometimes nothing! ha. i like that it’s a dance. it’s an entanglement. it’s mind and word and pen swirling and marveling at how they resolve. sometimes it’s a fight from beginning to end, and other times it all spills out and i don’t edit at all. it’s strange, how inspiration blesses and damns us! the process is an exhuming, an excising, a breaking open and bringing out into the light. often, it hurts.. always, it’s necessary.

What time of the day do you mostly write?

all times. words usually start flowing when i'm doing other things - i'm constantly inspired, soaking up everything.. when the muse strikes, you have to catch it - whether that means getting out of the shower to grab a pen, recording it onto your phone, scrawling it in the dark as you're falling asleep, squeezing out your notebook on a crowded train, or using WHATEVER is around to write on - receipts, napkins, etc.!

What do you do to get into your writing sessions?

my writing sessions are always organic - they just happen. sometimes it feels like just giving myself over to something greater - trusting in it, letting it take over. i'm writing all the time, whether it's journal-style entries, quick observations, poems, prose - or with sharpie all over the place. strangely, as i'm going through life, i kind of know what's going to end up in a piece - i feel that ZAP of inspiration, almost like i'm watching a movie, taking silent notes of every detail.. i'll notice some incredible expanse of sky, or the way the light hits someone's face, or the way it feels to ride my bike in the street at twilight - and i know, oh man - THAT's going to be a piece, sometime soon.. there ARE times when i sit down and say "okay, time to write" - but they're much rarer. no matter what, i do love being in some kind of environment that opens me up.. and i LOVE the feeling of pounding out words on my old underwood typewriter - everything about it just feels right.

Do you have any writing superstitions?

i used to get really hung up on the inspiration going dry, or the muse leaving me - if i was in a groove, scribbling fervently, there would always be this voice in the back of my head - when's it going to stop? how am i going to finish this? or, in times when writing was difficult for me, i would often compare myself to the writer i "used to be" - the way it once flowed, seemingly so much more easily. either that, or comparing myself to others - my peers, the greats, everyone and anyone else who had a stronger voice. what did i have to SAY? and why couldn't i put it together? there was a period towards the end of high school and into early college in which i either wasn't writing at all, or writing about the fact that i COULDN'T write. i was stabbing into the dark - and it was devastating and bewildering to me, like i was suddenly robbed of all purpose.. looking back, now i know - i was just holding on too tight, stifling myself. how often we get in our own way..

How do you deal with your writing superstitions?

it took some time of existing in those fears, pushing through them, beginning to share my work again, and peeling back my own anxieties, expectations, guilt, conceptions, comparisons.. and realizing that - i am a writer. i will always be a writer. and, like with so very many things in life - i just have to LET. GO. it came out in the intro to my book, "decisions we make while we dream," when i self-published it in 2012 - "whether i write with wild abandon or through gritted teeth, this is what i do - it will always be mine." when it comes to creativity, the muse, being brave enough to expose yourself and your feelings - there has to be this intense level of trust. you have to trust yourself, you have to trust the craft, you have to trust the universe - live your life wildly and with gratitude, enjoy everything, learn from everything, FEEL everything - and your work will come. even if it's not always easy, even if you think it's awful as it hits the page, or it won't make sense to anyone but you.. keep going. keep trying. keep writing. it will all reveal itself. at the end of the day - this is the love of my life. i've been writing for as long as i can remember, and i know in my blood and bones - this is what i'll always do. this will always be HOME.

What book changed your writing forever?

"the great gatsby" is the first book that brought me to my knees. i've read it over and over since 8th grade and my god, every time i marvel at it. fitzgerald is just so skilled at what he does - the kind of sentences, images he comes up with.. timeless. and the definition of "ACHE"! aside from that first love - emerson is my all-time favorite writer. in college when we started reading his essays, i felt one of the first of many SHOCKS of resonance from the universe. he was writing about michel de montaigne and said of his writing: "cut these words, and they would bleed; they are vascular and alive." i can't remember anything hitting me so hard. from that moment on i knew THAT's what i had to devote myself to - to write in that way, to KEEP writing in that way.

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

my 2 "r's" - rumi, because of his ecstatic experiences of the divine, of mad love.. i feel so close to his words.

and rilke because he captures the beauty and terror of this existence - because he pretty much seems to have "channeled" the duino elegies and sonnets to orpheus from the universe, from some kind of greater power. that feeling - it's thrilling, humbling - and the kind of magic that happens with this craft, when you crack yourself open and let it all pour out.. blood, guts, divinity.

What are you hoping to accomplish with your poetry?

to remind everyone that they have a voice. that every voice is worth hearing. everyone can do this, everyone can try. that there are things we should look at again, things we should be thankful for, things we should release back out into the world in our own way. my favorite writers always help me feel like i’m not alone – they make me see so clearly the mystic beauty in everyday life. they make me look again. they make me feel familiar even when i feel out of place. i hope so much to bring that to my readers or listeners. to comfort them, to hit them hard, to do justice to these memories i can’t honor in any other way.

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

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

Inspired Word Welcomes New Sponsor: Give Me Astoria

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:22:00 +0000

Thanks so much to Give Me Astoria for sponsoring this Wednesday night's open mic @ COFFEED in Long Island City, Queens!

Give Me Astoria is a local blog focused on bringing the best of Astoria to the community - including events, restaurant reviews, the arts, and Humans of Astoria.

Give Me Astoria is looking for contributing writers and photographers with a passion for the neighborhood. For more information, e-mail info@givemeastoria.com.

Make sure to check them out @ http://www.givemeastoria.com/.

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

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 12:18:00 +0000

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/poetry. Visit 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.

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/).

Summer 2-For-1 Open Mic Special in Manhattan Through End of July! Hot Mics!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 11:41:00 +0000

SUMMER 2-FOR-1 OPEN MIC SPECIAL in Manhattan! Hot Mics!

Buy a ticket to our Monday open mic @ Tammany Hall, 152 Orchard Street, downstairs lounge, Manhattan - 21+ age limit(http://mondaymictammany.eventbrite.com), get FREE entry the following night to our Tuesday night open mic @ Funkadelic Studios (inside gold Chinatex Building), 209 West, 40th Street (near 7th Avenue), 5th floor, Manhattan - no age limit(http://tueopenmicnyc.eventbrite.com).

Offer ends Friday, Aug. 1, 2014.

Interview with 3Po3try NYC Poet Phillip Giambri AKA The Ancient Mariner

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 16:37:00 +0000

Phillip Giambri aka “The Ancient Mariner” 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).

Giambri 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 following is our quick interview with Phillip:

What’s your definition of poetry?

Painting pictures with words that are absorbed and felt in the heart or the gut rather than the head.

What’s your favorite place to write?

My cabin in the Catskills.

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

My work is either reflections on childhood memories or stories of my adult life in dive bars, recording relationships and encounters in that environment.

What one word describes your writing style?

Nonintellectual.

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

An easily communicated story, with universal appeal, told in as few words as possible.

What's your best writing moment?

My best work has come to me during that “twilight time” when I’m almost but not quite asleep. Stories, memoirs, and visual film-like images appear in these moments.

What's your worst writing moment?

When I try sitting at the computer to meet some imagined writing deadline, stare at the screen for long periods, and nothing happens.

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

“To dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free” - Bob Dylan

What time of the day do you mostly write?

Sunday afternoons.

What do you do to get into your writing sessions?

Have a drink or two, play background music that reflects the mood of the piece I’m working on, or pick a piece of music that will bring out the words I’m looking for.

What's the weirdest place you ever wrote?

500 feet underwater on a submarine.

What's the weirdest thing you ever wrote on?

My hand and arm, when a bar napkin wasn't available.

What book changed your writing forever?

A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

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

Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

What comes easy to you with poetry?

Nothing with poetry. But technical writing and intellectual comedy or cynical writing are a breeze; that stuff comes from my head easily. Writing from the gut is much harder for me.

What are you hoping to accomplish with your poetry?

Effectively communicate my view of the world, people, and relationships, bypassing intellect and pushing directly for an emotional connection.

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

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

The Inspired Word Welcomes New Sponsor: The Arts & Music

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 17:45:00 +0000

Welcome to the family!

The Arts & Music

Official Website: http://www.theartsandmusic.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheArtsAndMusic

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheArtsAndMusic
"The Authority In The Arts & Music"

New & Exciting Inspired Word Weekly Schedule! Manhattan AND Queens!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 May 2014 18:22:00 +0000

The following is our official schedule/event page links:

EVERY Monday Night - Open Mic @ Tammany Hall, 152 Orchard Street, downstairs lounge, Manhattan. 7pm start time. 21+ age limit. http://mondaymictammany.eventbrite.com

EVERY Tuesday Night - Open Mic @ Funkadelic Studios (inside Chinatex Building), 209 West 40th Street (near 7th Avenue), 5th floor, Manhattan. 7pm start time. No age limit. http://tueopenmicnyc.eventbrite.com

EVERY Wednesday Night - Open Mic @ COFFEED LIC, 37-18 Northern Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens. 7pm start time. No age limit. http://coffeedopenmic.eventbrite.com

1st 2 Fridays EVERY Month - Open Mic @ Funkadelic Studios (inside Chinatex Building), 209 West 40th Street (near 7th Avenue), 5th floor, Manhattan. 7pm start time. No age limit. 1st Friday http://openmicfunknyc.eventbrite.com and 2nd Friday http://funkadelicopenmicnyc.eventbrite.com

3rd Friday EVERY Month - Erotica Open Mic @ The Gallery at LPR (Le Poisson Rouge), 158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan. 7pm start time. 21+ age limit. http://eroticaopenmicnyc.eventbrite.com

4th Friday EVERY Month - We Heart NYC Writers + Open Mic @ The Gallery at LPR (Le Poisson Rouge), 158 Bleecker Street, Manhattan. 7pm start time. 21+ age limit. http://weheartnycwriters.eventbrite.com

3rd Saturday EVERY Month - Poetry Slam ($1000 in year-end prize money)@ Funkadelic Studios (inside Chinatex Building), 209 West 40th Street (near 7th Avenue), 5th floor, Manhattan. 7pm start time. No age limit. http://newyorkpoetryslam.eventbrite.com

For all things Inspired Word, check out our website @ InspiredWordNYC.com

Also find us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @ InspiredWordNYC.

PTNYC Founder Megan DiBello Debuts as Inspired Word Host + Q&A Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 May 2014 17:47:00 +0000

This Wednesday, May 21, Poetry Teachers NYC founder Megan DiBello joins The Inspired Word family as one of the regular hosts of the new Wednesday night open mic @ COFFEED in Long Island City, 7pm-10pm.

We've already collaborated with Megan and PTNYC - quite successfully - on our new 3Po3try NYC project (along with great weather for MEDIA) and we're delighted to bring her deeper into the fold.

Here's her impressive bio:

Megan DiBello founded Poetry Teachers NYC in 2010. She holds a M.F.A from Naropa University, in Writing & Poetics and a B.A. from Marymount Manhattan College. She has been published in Fact-Similie, Flanour Foundry, The Bathroom, & Monkey Puzzle Press. Megan has performed at the White Box Gallery, The Bowery Poetry Club, The HOWL Festival, The Socrates Sculpture Park, The Center of Book Arts, Metropolitan Pavilion, Columbia University, and the DUMBO Arts Festival. Her first hybrid book is entitled, Voyeur Without A Title. You can find Megan/PTNYC on Twitter @poetryteachnyc and @megandibello. And PTNYC's website is http://www.poetryteachersnyc.com/.

The following is a brief but revealing Q&A interview we did with Megan:

How did you come to found PTNYC?

When I moved back to New York after graduating from Naropa’s MFA program in the summer of 2010, I wanted to teach poetry as a full-time job. Coming from an entrepreneurial family, I knew that I wanted to create something outside of standard academia. With encouragement from someone I knew who lived his life teaching his own tango school, I decided to channel that energy along with the great words Anne Waldman once told me, “Don’t Wait To Be Discovered, Discover Yourself.” So I did. And Poetry Teachers NYC formed. Daniel Dissinger, (now co-founder) and Aimee Herman (faculty) found me a year or so after I had the original concept. Since then, we have been teaching workshops and producing events. We're planning on growing this school and one day, perhaps in the not so distant future, open a space.

What is its core concept, mission?

Teaching adults poetry. Employ poets (any maker or doer) so they can teach as a job and do their art as a career.

What one word describes your writing style?

Song.

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

One that layers song and poetry.

What's your best writing moment? What's your worst writing moment?

Best— where I forget what I am singing or saying, but believe in myself to know the words and melody are there to guide me.

Worst— defining the difference (if there is one) between my poems versus my lyrics.

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

Walt Whitman - “Ah Lover and Perfect Equal” from, Among the Multitudes.

What time of the day do you mostly write?

I write in motion. On trains or walking or in airports. I call it my Kinetic Poetics.

What do you do to get into your writing sessions?

Take a shower to practice my vocal techniques.

What's the weirdest place you ever wrote?

A salt cave

What's the weirdest thing you ever wrote on?

Electronic eulogies.

What book changed your writing forever?

Joan Didion’s The White Album.

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

Joan Didion or Joanne Kyger.

Do you have any writing superstitions?

When I write, so does the truth. I let recordings of my voice tell the real story.

NEW Inspired Word Host Audrey Dimola - Q&A Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 30 Apr 2014 20:16:00 +0000

In May, a Queens-proud poetic force of nature named Audrey Dimola joins The Inspired Word family as one of the regular hosts of the new Wednesday night open mic @ COFFEED in Long Island City. She will also be the showcase feature on debut night, Wednesday, May 7.

Can't tell you how honored and excited we are to bring Audrey into the fold.

Here's her impressive bio:

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.

Find out more about Audrey @ http://audreydimola.com/ and follow her on Twitter @ audreydwrites and Instagram @ audreyleopard

The following is a brief but revealing Q&A interview we did with Audrey (who, like a lot of poets, eschews capitalized words and is particularly playful with punctuation):

What one word describes your writing style?

"electroluminescent" - luminescence produced electrically! which for me translates to two hugely important forces in my world, my being, my work: light and energy! that, or just straight-up "ache" - because ache is intensity of FEELING, both beautiful or terrible. unbearable - you can ache for what's lost or ache from pure joy..

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

an explosion in the heart.. a dead-on suckerpunch and a sloppy, lingering kiss afterwards. ha! honestly - it's something you can't forget. it's something that hits you hard, lifts you up, makes you thankful you read it, or wish you could be that brave - something people from all backgrounds can appreciate and grasp onto, not just poetry fans or lit lovers. i love flowery words and visceral images, but also poems that are deceivingly simple but profound - something you can take with you, something you can USE.

What's your best writing moment? What's your worst writing moment?

best is letting it flow. the words that come over me like a mystic sensation - that just tumble out of me, and i let them be. i feel like they're coasting off from the current of the universe..

worst is trying too hard, judging myself.

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

such an amazing and difficult question! the line i have in my email signature is from kabir: "if you don't break your ropes while you're alive, do you think ghosts will do it after?" wow.

What time of the day do you mostly write?

all times. words usually start flowing when i'm doing other things - i'm constantly inspired, soaking up everything.. when the muse strikes, you have to catch it - whether that means getting out of the shower to grab a pen, recording it onto your phone, scrawling it in the dark as you're falling asleep, squeezing out your notebook on a crowded train, or using WHATEVER is around to write on - receipts, napkins, etc.!

What do you do to get into your writing sessions?

my writing sessions are always organic - they just happen. sometimes it feels like just giving myself over to something greater - trusting in it, letting it take over. i'm writing all the time, whether it's journal-style entries, quick observations, poems, prose - or with sharpie all over the city (shhh). strangely, as i'm going through life, i kind of know what's going to end up in a piece - i feel that ZAP of inspiration, almost like i'm watching a movie, taking silent notes of every detail.. i'll notice some incredible expanse of sky, or the way the light hits someone's face, or the way it feels to ride my bike in the street at twilight - and i know, oh man - THAT's going to be a piece, sometime soon.. there ARE times when i sit down and say "okay, time to write" - but they're much rarer. no matter what, i do love being in some kind of environment that opens me up - writing by a window, in the grass, on the waterfront, on a fire escape.. and i LOVE the feeling of pounding out words on my old underwood typewriter - everything about it just feels right.

What's the weirdest place you ever wrote?

honestly i don't think any place is weird, necessarily - writing is like breathing and it happens all the time, everywhere.. in bed next to your sleeping lover, in the car, in the bathroom! i CAN tell you a strange place some words of mine ended up - stuck in the form of a poetry sticker (from my compass project http://tinyurl.com/compassproject), on a bulldozer!

What's the weirdest thing you ever wrote on?

this immediately makes me think of writing all over everything with sharpie. the world is my notebook! just the other day i wrote on a broken lamppost..

What book changed your writing forever?

"the great gatsby" is the first book that brought me to my knees. i've read it over and over since 8th grade and my god, every time i marvel at it. fitzgerald is just so skilled at what he does - the kind of sentences, images he comes up with.. timeless. and the definition of "ACHE"! aside from that first love - emerson is my all-time favorite writer. in college when we started reading his essays, i felt one of the first of many SHOCKS of resonance from the universe. he was writing about michel de montaigne and said of his writing: "cut these words, and they would bleed; they are vascular and alive." i can't remember anything hitting me so hard. from that moment on i knew THAT's what i had to devote myself to - to write in that way, to KEEP writing in that way.

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

my 2 "r's" - rumi, because of his ecstatic experiences of the divine, of mad love.. i feel so close to his words.

and rilke because he captures the beauty and terror of this existence - because he pretty much seems to have "channeled" the duino elegies and sonnets to orpheus from the universe, from some kind of greater power. that feeling - it's thrilling, humbling - and the kind of magic that happens with this craft, when you crack yourself open and let it all pour out.. blood, guts, divinity.

Do you have any writing superstitions?

i used to get really hung up on the inspiration going dry, or the muse leaving me - if i was in a groove, scribbling fervently, there would always be this voice in the back of my head - when's it going to stop? how am i going to finish this? or, in times when writing was difficult for me, i would often compare myself to the writer i "used to be" - the way it once flowed, seemingly so much more easily. either that, or comparing myself to others - my peers, the greats, everyone and anyone else who had a stronger voice. what did i have to SAY? and why couldn't i put it together? there was a period towards the end of high school and into early college in which i either wasn't writing at all, or writing about the fact that i COULDN'T write. i was stabbing into the dark - and it was devastating and bewildering to me, like i was suddenly robbed of all purpose.. looking back, now i know - i was just holding on too tight, stifling myself. how often we get in our own way..

How do you deal with your writing superstitions?

it took some time of existing in those fears, pushing through them, beginning to share my work again, and peeling back my own anxieties, expectations, guilt, conceptions, comparisons.. and realizing that - i am a writer. i will always be a writer. and, like with so very many things in life - i just have to LET. GO. it came out in the intro to my book, "decisions we make while we dream," when i self-published it in 2012 - "whether i write with wild abandon or through gritted teeth, this is what i do - it will always be mine." when it comes to creativity, the muse, being brave enough to expose yourself and your feelings - there has to be this intense level of trust. you have to trust yourself, you have to trust the craft, you have to trust the universe - live your life wildly and with gratitude, enjoy everything, learn from everything, FEEL everything - and your work will come. even if it's not always easy, even if you think it's awful as it hits the page, or it won't make sense to anyone but you.. keep going. keep trying. keep writing. it will all reveal itself. at the end of the day - this is the love of my life. i've been writing for as long as i can remember, and i know in my blood and bones - this is what i'll always do. this will always be HOME.

10 Questions with...NYC Poet Aimee Herman

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:47:00 +0000

Aimee Herman will be one of the featured poets in(as well as the host of) Raining Words: A Spring Poetry Extravaganza on Saturday, April 12 @ The Pomegrante Gallery, produced by 3Po3try NYC (https://www.facebook.com/3po3trynyc).

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.

The following is our quick 10-question interview with Ms. Herman, who like poet e.e. cummings believes in writing all in lowercase:

What one word describes your writing style?

experimentallyserrated.

What's your idea of the perfect poem?

there is no such thing.

What's your best writing moment?

when the words arrive.

What's your worst writing moment?

when they forget themselves.

What time of the day do you mostly write?

all times.

What do you do to get into your writing sessions?

disembowel my brain stem, remove my clothes, eat nato with okra, masturbate, read, listen to miles davis (not necessarily in that order).

What's the weirdest place you ever wrote?

in a dungeon on a saturday surrounded by various forms of bdsm.

What's the weirdest thing you ever wrote on?

none of it's been weird. i'm just grateful that there are other things to write on besides paper. bodies. trees. buildings. bathroom doors. library books, refrigerators, on bread......

What book changed your writing forever?

blood and guts in high school by kathy acker.

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

tie between kathy acker and bukowski.

To purchase advance tickets to Raining Words: A Spring Poetry Extravaganza, go to http://3po3trynycdebut.eventbrite.com.

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