Only one small print publisher was interested, but the amount of books I needed, as I was still touring heavily, forced me to branch out on my own. Most of them weren't interested in my work, even though I had a history of print media, as a freelancer for several highly recognized magazines. And when I returned to the States, I bombarded so many different book publishers: small press, independent mainly. I think it was a professor who wanted to share it with a class. I was asked for a book, not a chapbook book, and I was chastised for not having something so powerful available. It was created after my 5th tour of Europe. Q: Can you talk a little bit about the work you're doing with Penmanship Books?Ī: Penmanship currently hosts 12 authors including the 2010 Women of the World Champion, NYC's Youth Poet Laureate, and internationally and nationally recognized performance poets.
Q: What advice would you give a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, aspiring performance poet trying to break into the scene?Ī: There is absolutely nothing wrong with being inspired by our amazing contemporary artists-but there is absolutely nothing wrong with being daring enough to show the world who YOU are. It's like Lord of the Flies filled with snobbish behavior and character assassination. I learned that we are products of a system that we say we want to overthrow and instead we've become the same destructive machine of that curse. You can learn a lot about a person from their silence too. Q: Assuming it hasn't been all roses and butterflies, what has been the biggest struggle?Ī: I learned that racism and sexism are extremely prevalent in our slam communities. You can learn a lot about a person from their LiveJournal page. Like any other art genre, it has some beautiful times and some really unbeautiful and downright ugly times. Q: For you, what has been the best part of being involved with slam poetry?Ī: Slam is a vehicle. I learned so much about practice, accountability and friendship. And quite honestly, it is the reason I run my slam team like bootcamp. I went out for LouderArts in 2004 and share the Grand Slam Champ title with Michael Cirelli and Roger Bonair-Agard. I tried out vigorously for the team in 2003 and failed. Q: When and how did you first get involved with the poetry slam?Ī: My first slam was at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 2001.
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