no. 003 | poetry slam

☑ attend a poetry slam

sometimes, things will get added to the list that i never even expected to be a part of when i first woke up that day...thanks to the inspiration of a dear friend, i had the opportunity to experience for the first time in my life, a poetry slam. words with emotion pierce right to my soul, and last night was an unexpected treat. i've seen videos of "spoken word" on youtube, but nothing can take the place of actually sitting in an audience of attentive listeners, drinking in the deepest thoughts being shared by another human being. what i enjoyed the most was the common thread throughout each of these pieces: a longing to be known... each of these poets expressed a bit of who they are, and some of them expressed quite vividly what they are searching for, and this... this is what my soul found most refreshing.i was reminded tonight that everyone is trying to share their story... and that sometimes, all it takes is a few seconds of courage, in order to be heard. i don't think anyone would have walked away from speaking tonight, saying "no one liked what i had to say" ... everyone got an applause when they were done speaking. we heard them. and i wonder, how does this carry over in my life? am i giving people the room to utilize those moments where all they need is a few seconds of courage in order to speak what is written on their heart, and know that no matter how much they stumble over their words or how much passion they put into their piece, that i will always be attentive when listening, and ready to applaud loudly when they are finished sharing?i want to be that. always attentive. always listening. always applauding.as a bonus... the poetry slam ended with a guest poet. i had never heard of this guest poet before, but he is an award-winning poet, who has won back-to-back poetry slam awards. words are his life. and i imagine that this is both exhilarating and exhausting. this guy is a fan favorite wherever he speaks... the Bowery Room in NYC, national events such as TWLOHA (To Write Love On Her Arms), and poetry slam competitions. after his first poem, i realized what an honor it was to be sitting in this room...i feel i must share a bit of what i experienced last night.Anis Mojgani poured out his words of inspiration, humor, reality, and emotion.so, here is a video... not from last night, but it is a recent video, and this is just a bit of what i had the privilege to experience last night... my first poetry slam, and a guest performance by Anis Mojgani:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PWrlOgrzHQ]

"Shake the Dust" by Anis Mojgani, Def Poet, won back-to-back titles at the National Individual Poetry Slam in 2005 and 2006, and won first place at 2007 World Cup Poetry Slam held in Bobigny, France. He performs here, as the featured poet at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City, performing his famous "Shake the Dust".