I am a HUGE fan of poetry. And I love the way that Spoken Word Poetry has literally breathed new life into a beautiful art form.

Let’s face it, there was a time there when “the powers that be in our schools” tried to kill poetry.

Tried to bludgeon it.

Tried beat the joy of reading or writing poetry out of every student who dared to cross through their halls.

And yet, poetry survived in spite of school, not because of it. (Trust me, I was there when all this happened. It was hurtful and it was ugly… and I am still scarred.)

Yet today I come with GREAT NEWS. My good friend and fellow co-writer for two of my book projects, Hip-Hop Poetry and The Classics for the Classroom as well as The Poetry Jam, just… well… I’ll just paste the news release down below.

I mean it’s not like you don’t stand a good chance of hearing about it anyway. After all, HBO is going to show it in prime time in the fall.

If you don’t know the work of Michael Cirelli, poet, author, executive director of Urban Word New York City, you ought to.

He is bringing poetry into American classrooms in a way that that is fresh, dynamic, rigorous, phenomenally exciting and deep. These kids are simply awesome.

Congrats on the victory, Michael… you really are blazing new territory.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Mikal Amin Lee (212.352.3495)

URBAN WORD NYC WINS

Brave New Voices International Teen Poetry Slam

Featured on HBO this Fall

Los Angeles, CA – The six young poets from the award-winning literary arts organization, Urban Word NYC, took the crown this weekend at the Brave New Voices International Teen Poetry Slam. Over the course of the week-long festival, the New York City teen poets bested 51 teams from across the U.S. and abroad, were undefeated in all preliminary and semifinal competition bouts, and went on to win the Grand Slam Final at Los Angeles’ historic Saban Theater. The finals were hosted by rapper/actor Common and actress Rosario Dawson, and documented by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons’ production company for an HBO special to be aired this fall. The teens representing Urban Word NYC were Justin Long, 17; Jesica Blandon, 17; Jay Davis, 17; Ishmael Islam, 18; and Sean B, 18. They were mentored and coached by award-winning poet and mentor Mahogany Browne and youth alum Carvens Lissaint.

“This year’s team made us proud because they authentically represented the values of our organization. The poets were humble, honest, brave, and exhibited a commitment to writing, performance and community that was unmatched,” commented Urban Word NYC’s Executive Director, Michael Cirelli. Winning teen poet Ka’Mone Felix reflected, “It was such a blessing to bring our voices and integrity to the stage, and
represent our home, our city.”

Back in NYC, the team will be engaged in various readings and public service projects to give back to their communities. They will also be performing at a welcome back celebration and showcase on Wednesday, August 11th at The Point in the Bronx to raise funds for Urban Word’s after school writing workshops and college prep courses for teens.

For more information and opportunities to book these poets visit www.urbanwordnyc.org

All poets, coaches, mentors and staff are available for interviews.

I just saw the best 30 minutes of television I have seen in years. A true 100% thumbs up. This show will open your eyes in so many ways to kids, poetry, literacy, multiculturalism, education and, dare I say it, hope for our future.

It’s HBO’s new season of Def Poetry Jam, the tv show by Russell Simmons. And this season, they are covering the work of youth poets. Specifically, they are are tracking the regional finals all across the country as a variety of teams make their claim to be the National Youth Poetry champs of Brave New Voices.

It’s off-the-charts in a way like you almost never, ever see on tee-vee. The first 5 minutes of the season begins with the New York team, a group of ferocious teenage poets who year in and year out bring heat like almost no other city in the nation. (I’ve been lucky enough to see them do their stuff in person a few times. The electricity is freakin’ crazy! If you are in New York, their outfit is run by one of the most cutting edge, sharpest poet/educators in the country right now, Micahel Cirelli, the executive director of Urban Word NYC. Look him up and bring this stuff to your kids — it’s unreal how many lives they are reaching right now under the radar. Well, not anymore.)

A sold out Aplollo theater in Harlem. A sold out San Francisco Opera House. A prime time show on HBO. For those of you who have lost faith in the next generation pull up a chair — these kids are doing stuff that’ll make your hair stand on edge.

I’ll say it again… YOU GOTTA WATCH THIS!!! When they said the revolution will not be televised, they had no idea that Russell Simmons was gonna catch glimpses of it and pipe it out for all of America to see on HBO.

Check it out! It’s available On Demand, it’ll be re-running all week and it’s also right here, right now, one click away.

Get comfy and be blown away.

Michael Cirelli flew in from New York and for the past few days we’ve been hammering away at the creation of our super-secret, top-priority, no one knows about it, ultimate urban, supremely-stealth literacy weapon.

Okay, you got me. It’s BookJam #6 on the horizon… The Poetry Jam. Flat out, this thing is going to be off the charts!! If you are not familiar with Michael, you are missing out on knowing about the work of of one amazing guy in the world of contemporary poetry. And not only is he a GREAT writer and performer, he is one of the nation’s leading teachers in the world of teaching spoken word poetry to teens. Ever heard of Urban Word NYC? If not, you have no idea what kind of cool stuff the kids in our country are doing with words, ideas, books, and passion these days.

Michael Cirelli and Alan Sitomer already teamed up once — and this is what they created.

The Poetry Jam. We broke ground today big time today. Look for it in 2010. Once again, the best teaching I have ever done.

Go ‘head. Chime in on the ning. We need you.