Spotlight Poetry Contest Day 6

Today we have a wonderful and extremly gifted poet. Her work is a delight to read. I know you'll enjoy it. And don't forget this is the weekend the poets need you to vote for your favorite poet from the Spotlight Poetry Contest. On Friday, I'll have a voting form posted and each follower can vote for their favorite poet. So take some time and get reacquainted with all the poets from July so you can remember which poems you loved the most.


And to the poets, it's time to network and get your fellow followers and friends to vote for you. Only followers of the blog can vote. And I will be checking. So as long as they follow the blog, they can vote. They can follow by GFC, Email or RSS Feed. The winner will receive $50 if they are a U.S. resident or $50 for The Book Depository.


Thank you to all the wonderful people that sent me emails, prayers, cards and special thoughts this week. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I need you all to help me spread the word about the poetry contest and the voting that will take place this weekend. I will be out of town this weekend to bid farewell, so I won't be able to tweet or link as often as I normally would without internet access. So if my blog family could come together for me and help me out by linking the voting post this Friday by Facebooking, Tweeting, Digging, posting on Stumble Upon or other social sites, I would truly, truly appreciate it.


Thank you so very much.


Good luck to all the poets and please don't forget to leave encouraging words or thoughts for Chantel A. Jonson. Have a wonderful week.
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Writer of poetry for more than 25 years and most recently children's books and science fiction. Works as a dispatcher and currently attending classes at the University of Phoenix. Enjoys reading, learning, and sharing the beauty of the imagination. She has published several books of poetry. Including Thoughts, Desires, Passions: A Poetic Collection and Passionate: A Collection of Poetry. Stay tuned for her newest book, Cascades: Poetic Empathy.

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A New Man by Chantel A. Jonson

Your spirit is like a song to me
Easy, soft beautiful words
caressing away my tensions
Replacing the motions of bittersweet
I calm myself in your company by the river
Not a word as waves become our melody
The things my heart wants to give to you
Softly the words shape the path of your fingertips
strumming the shrill of my trickling resolve
Along the nape hairs rise and fall to your rhythm
Kisses that pound the shore
Craving from your touch so much more
Will you sing to me as we love
Guide the words to pierce tenderly
Fluent language our body's will hum
I'll close my eyes to release the moan
Delicious is the score
Every sweet rise and ever sinking note
Swaying, floating ever so delicately
Teach me the words
of the song you sing to me

Spotlight Poetry Contest Day 5

It's has been a busy week. I went to the AWC Writers' Conference last weekend and I needed to decompress so I didn't post my favorite Nikki Giovanni poem yesterday. I didn't post anything yesterday. I was having a zen moment and I enjoyed it. Somedays you have to take it and be in the moment and not worry about the excess or the white noise trying to get you to overwhelm yourself. I've learned to listen to the inner me and when it's time to chill for a moment, I chill. But today is a new day and all is well and I have my favorite Nikki Giovanni poem as well as another poet that is now entered into the Spotlight Poetry Contest. I hope you enjoy both.

Please make sure and leave a special comment and let Ms. L.C. Arrington know what a wonderful job she did.

Have a happy Wednesday.

Blessings!

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My Sister and Me by Nikki Giovanni

Chocolate cookies
Chocolate cakes
Chocolate fudge
Chocolate lakes
Chocolate kisses
Chocolate hugs
Two little chocolate girls
In a chocolate rug

No one can find us
We're all alone
Two little chocolate girls
Running from home

Chocolate chickies
Chocolate bunnies
Chocolate smiles
From chocolate mommies
Chocolate rabbits
Chocolate snakes
Two little chocolate girls
Wide awake

What an adventure
My, what fun
My sister and me
Still on the run
Still on the run
My sister and me
Still
On the run

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L. C. Arrington (poetic alias L-A-Quent) has always had a love for poetry and writing. She is a spoken word artist, has contributed as a freelance writer for various online magazines, has been featured in this years 15th annual Moonstone Arts Poetry Ink, has had numerous speaking engagements and recently has released her first book entitled “Prescriptions of a Poet: Remedies of the Heart”. In addition to writing she enjoys staying active in the community and is also involved in youth mentorship programs. http://www.honestly-speaking.org/    http://www.facebook.com/laquent.poet
 

Frustrated

Frustrated by my circumstances.
Frustrated by things that are beyond my control.
Feels like I'm Sailing a ship on dry land,
Drinking sand to quench my thirst.
Flying a kite underwater,
Lighting a candle with no wick,
Reading with my eyes closed,
Screaming with my mouth shut.
Floating against the pull of gravity.
I gasp for air. Inhaling to push air out, exhaling brings it back in again.
Up is down, left is right, wrong is...still wrong.
Eternity is ephemeral.
Frustrated by my circumstances
Frustrated by things that are beyond my control.
Everything is contradictory to my belief, therefore if I'm frustrated then I must be on the brink of
Fulfillment. I welcome fulfillment
I take it firmly in my grasp
Grateful for what I’ve experienced and never missing what I’ve never had

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What did you think of the two poems? I enjoyed them both because I could relate to both. What are your thoughts?



Interview with Poet Nikki Giovanni Part 3

Goodmorning everyone. Here is part 3 of my interview with Nikki Giovanni. If you've missed any of the previous interviews, please go to the Author Interviews tab and you will find the previous two interviews. Also, don't forget to check out the Spotlight Poetry contest entries. They are doing such a spectacular job. I have really been enjoying the poetry they have submitted. If you still want to enter, there is still time. Just go the Spotlight Poetry Submission tab and follow the guidelines to enter. And please spread the word, we want as many poets as possible to have the opportunity to share their work and have a chance at winning the prize.

Blessings!

Nikki Giovanni Interview

I’m going to give you four words; can you give me a poem that best represents each attribute? For instance, if I say surrogate, I might think of the poem, The Aunt by Mari Evans.

Love:

Bicycles

Desire:

Love Poems

Pain:  

Acolytes

Hope: 

All of my poems are about hope.

You have written several books of poetry for children? How do you get children interested in poetry and how can we inspire our youth to be more empowered?

Well, you know children are not stupid. And I think you have to approach them as intelligent beings. And I m really thrilled that they have enjoyed the books that I’ve written. But I approach children like anything else, like they are intelligent. And you approach them as intelligent. I think I am a pretty good story teller, but one of the reasons I am is that the stories are true.  I’m sharing something with them, something that they not only need to know but enjoy getting to know. And that’s black or white. That doesn’t matter. My book Rosa, has been well received all over the community, kids like it, white kids like it, black kids like it, and I wanted to share Mrs. Parks as I knew her. I think kids will read if we give them the books.

So true.

What are your thoughts about the segregation of books by African American writer’s in book stores?

Well, you know, that’s been a controversy. Because you say segregation, and other people call it categories, but I don’t read for example… umm…what is that stuff… I don’t read murder mysteries, so I’m glad there is a section on murder mystery, cause I don’t have to go to it. And I don’t read it anymore, I use to read a lot of science fiction when I was much younger, I don’t read it anymore. So I’m glad there is a section on science fiction. I read poetry and I’m glad there is a section on poetry.  And I read a lot of black American authors, so I’m glad when I walk into a bookstore, I don’t have to go through everybody that ever wrote, to find what I’m looking for, I don’t think of it as segregation, I think of it as categories.

That’s a good way of looking at it.

In a previous interview you mentioned that Fredrick Douglass had input into Abraham Lincoln’s administration. Are you currently working on a project to educate readers about that relationship and the influence Fredrick Douglass may have had on the Emancipation Proclamation being signed?

I have written the book, it’s called An American Friendship: Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass and the book is out. I have not done any additional work to that. No.

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Stay tuned to the final conclusion of my interview with Ms. Nikki Giovanni next Monday. You know she will have something interesting and insightful to say.

What did you think of the interview today? Do you agree with Ms. Giovanni about the segregation of African American books in bookstores? Are they simply categorized or are books segregated in bookstores?

What poems comes to mind when you think of love, desire, pain and hope?

Favorite Nikki Giovanni Poem, All Eyez on U

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday. Here is another one of my favorite Nikki Giovanni poems, it was written in honor of Tupac Shakur, entitled "All Eyez on U."

If you didn't get a chance to read Nikki Giovanni's Interview Part 2, please do so. Leave a comment and let us know what you thought about the interview. I would like to get more renowned poets and writers, but we have to show them so love. I enjoy them, I hope you do too, so please leave a comment and let them know you do too. If you haven't joined the Spotlight Poetry Contest, there is still time to do so, just got the Spotlight Poetry Submission tab for more details.


Enjoy and have a blessed day!

"All Eyez on U" by Nikki Giovanni

as I tossed and turned unable to achieve sleep unable to control anxiety unable to comprehend why
2Pac is not with us
if those who live be the sword died be the sword there would be no white men on the earth
if those who lived on hatred died on hatred there would be no KKK
if those who lived by lies died by lies there would be nobody on wall
street in executive suits in academic offices instructing the young
don’t tell me he got what he deserved
he deserved a chariot and the accolades of a grateful people
he deserved his life
it is as clear as a mountain stream as defining as a lightning strike
as terrifying as sun to vampires
there were those who called it dirty
gansta rap inciting there were those who never wanted to be
angry at conditions but angry at the messenger who reported:
your kitchen has roaches your toilet is over flowing you basement has so much water the rats are in the living room your house is in disorder
and 2Pac told you about it
what a beautiful boy graceful carriage melodic voice sharp wit intellectual breadth
what a beautiful boy to loose
not me
never me
I don’t believe east coast west coast
I saw them murder Emmett Till I saw them murder Malcolm X
I saw them murder
Martin Luther King
I witnessed them shooting Rap Brown I saw them beat LeRoi Jones
I saw them fill there jails I see them burning churches
not me
never me
I do not believe this is some sort of mouth action
This is some sort of political action and they picked well
they picked the brightest freshest fruit from the tallest tree
what a beautiful boy
but he will not go away
as Malcolm did not go away
as Emmett Till did not go away
your shooting him will not take him from us
his spirit will fill our hearts
his courage will strengthen us for the challenge
his truth will straighten our backbones
you know, Socrates had a mother
she too watched here son drink hemlock
she too asked why
but Socrates stood firm and would not lie to save himself
2Pac has a mother
the lovely Afeni had to bury her son
it is not right
it is not right that this young warrior is cut down
it is not right for the old to bury the young
it is not right
this generation mourns 2Pac as my generation mourned Till as we all mourn Malcolm
this wonderful you warrior
Sonia Sanchez said when she learned of his passing she walked all day
walking the beautiful warrior home to our ancestors I just cried as all
mothers cry for the beautiful boy who said he and Mike Tyson would
never be allowed to be free at the same time who told the truth about
them and who told the truth about us who is our beautiful warrior
there are those who wanted to make him the problem
who wanted to believe if they silenced 2Pac all would be quiet on the ghetto
front there are those who testified that the problem wasnÕt the conditions
but the people talking about them
they took away band
so the boys started scratching they took away gym
so the boys started break dancing the boys started dancing the boys started rapping
cause they gave them the guns and the drugs but not the schools and libraries
what a beautiful boy to loose
and we mourn 2Pac Shakur and we reach out to his mother and we
hung ourselves in sadness and shame
and we are compelled to ask:
R U Happy, Mz Tucker? 2Pac is gone
R U Happy?

What is your favorite Nikki Giovanni poem? And what poem do you remember most by Ms. Nikki Giovanni?





Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 2

Good day everyone. Today is part 2 of my interview with renowned and acclaimed poet, Nikki Giovanni from June 14, 2011. If you would like to read part one, please go to Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 1 to catch up. We still have two more interviews after today, each interview will be posting on Monday for the entire month of July. And don't forget to check out the Spotlight Poetry Contest also going on for the entire month of July. If you would like to participate, please go to Spotlight Poetry Submission for more details. Also, please enjoy the poets from last week, Poetry Contest Day 1 and Contest Day 2, that have already been selected for the poetry contest. Please leave a comment and let them know how well they each did.

Enjoy the interview.

Nikki Giovanni Interview Part 2

Tupac Shakur's birthday is in two days. (It was at the time of this interview). You wrote a poem about Tupac, titled, "All Eyez on U" and you even got a Thug Life tattoo, what motivated you do do so?

He was a genius. And a wonderful young man. I think he was deliberately misunderstood. And I think that his death was a great loss.

I agree. It really was.


After the Virginia Tech Massacre, you created two beautiful poems that mourned the tragedy of that event, but also offered words of encouragement to students to stand tall and brave. Those poems were released in a book of poetry entitled Bicycles: Love Poems. What does the bicycle represent?

Bicycle are about trust and balance. That's all a bicycle is. When you get on a bicycle you have to balance and you have to trust that if you keep paddling  you won't fall. And that's what life is and that's what love is.

True. Very true.

Well, it's been what five or six years now? None of the students are still here.


They've gone on.

Yes, they've graduated and moved. Sure. This is America. There is a tragedy someplace everyday in America. Everyday somebody is getting killed because some fool has a gun.


Is poetry born out of anger, grief, love or a combination, or perhaps something all together different?

Poetry is an emotion. It comes out an emotional awareness. I wouldn't begin to try to say what brings poetry forth.


You stated previously, that losing your father is different than losing your mother, can you explain?

Probably not. But usually when you lose your father, you have your mother. But when you lose your mother, you only have your brothers and sisters, or sometimes you're by yourself. But it's a major change.


You've experienced a lot of grief with the passing of your father, your mother, your sister, and even the loss of your lung. How does this affect your poetry without having it all pertain to sadness and loss?

I don't think that it's sad. Death is apart of life. And our health in the modern world. everybody has got, well not everybody, I don't mean each and every....people come up with cancers all the time. I'm very fortunate that I'm alive. I've got good medical care and I'm a big fan of medical care. And this is apart of life, life was never what you saw on television.


What do you think about America having a black president and a black first lady? Do you think as African Americans we've made it to the hilltop and brought Martin Luther King's dream to fruition?

NO. I don't think so. This hasn't anything to do with King's dream. King dreamed of a just world. And I don't think we can look at this world that we are living in and see that it's just. America is fighting four wars. I dont' see the justice. We are still holding people in Guantanamo and we are still outsourcing torture and we're sending in drones to kill people. I voted for Barack Obama, this first time. I will not vote for him again. I'm bitterly disappointed that He has not lived up to his promise at all.


If you had a chance to meet President Obama, what would you tell him?

I don't have any reason to think I would have a chance to meet Obama, anymore more than George Bush, any more than any of the other presidents, so I can't think like that. And the color of his skin doesn't change that. The president has to stand for something. And I don't care what color of his skin is. And Barack Obama has refuse to do so.

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Stay tuned for Part 3 of my interview with Nikki Giovanni next Monday. You don't want to miss what else she has to say.

What did you think of Ms. Giovanni's interview?



Poetry Spotlight and Contest

It's July! Time for fireworks, grilling and fun in the sun. I don't know if you remember a few weeks back, I said I would spotlight poetry for the entire month of July in honor of one of my favorite poets, the talented and gifted, Nikki Giovanni. I did an interview with Ms. Giovanni a few weeks ago, but decided to wait and post it and just dedicate the entire month to her and all the poets in the world. So beginning on July 5th, I will post one segment of my interview with Nikki Giovanni once a week. The rest of the week, I will highlight my favorite Nikki Giovanni poems as well as spotlight some new rising and upcoming poets. 

Submission and Contest


If you would like to be considered in the spotlight, please go to The Spotlight Poetry Contest and follow the guidelines. At the end of the spotlight, I will ask my readers, (yes that's you) to vote on your favorite poem highlighted during the month. The winner will receive $50. This contest is open internationally. However, if the winner lives within the U.S, they will receive $50, if the winner lives internationally, they will receive $50 towards purchases at The Book Depository. 


So I hope you will stay tuned to the upcoming interview with the renowned Nikki Giovanni, our featured poets and check back frequently to see who the lucky winner will be. Plus, I need your help voting for the winner come July 30th, July 31st and August 1st. So please spread the word and enter today. 


Poetry submissions begin July 1, 2011 and end July 24, 2011. Voting begins July 30, 2011 and ends August 1, 2011 at midnight.


Have a blessed, safe and happy Fourth of July!