No guest this week as we celebrate the holidays with family, however we have produced a Chapter Break (a pause between Chapter numbers) that includes a collection of spoken word performances by a number of our favorite Performance Poets.

Happy holidays!

Featured Spoken Word Performances this week include:

Candace Nicholas-Lippman - Ten
IG: @candace.nicholas.lippman
X: @candacethepoet

Joshua Bennett - Transatlantic Love Manifesto
IG: @sirjoshbennett
X: @sirjoshbennett
Website: drjoshuabennett.com

Carvans Lissaint - Tell Them
IG: @carvenslissaint
Website: carvensliaasint.com

Dua Selah - Fractions
IG: @doitlikedua
Website: duasaleh.com

Ghetto Jedi the Poet - I am Metaphor

Jasmine Mans - I Know You Didnt Mean To Kill Him
IG: @poetjasminemans
Website: jasminemans.com

Mecca Morphosis - Penny Dreadfuls
IG: @meccamorphosis
Website: meccamorphosis.com

Propaganda - Twenty Years
IG: @prophiphop
Website: prophiphop.com

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In Volume Four Chapter Nineteen, we welcome Poet, Actress, performance Poet, and Author of the books "More Than Me" and "A Cup of Me", Leslie Saint-Julien. Leslie also stars as Janae McRae in the movie "Men Dont Cheat" currently available on YouTube and Amazon Prime.

From Leslie's "About Me" page:

"Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland. She has studied Acting for Film at the New York Film Academy College of Visual & Performing Arts. Additionally, she has studied theater crafting, acting fundamentals & playwriting under the tutelage of Drs. Vivian G. Spencer, Gregory Wm. Branch and Baltimore actor, director & playwright Derrell G. Owens.

Leslie is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). Also a member of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), her streaming work and poetry books can be found on all major streaming platforms and everywhere popular books are sold."

Contact Leslie:
Instagram: @lesliesaintjulien
Watch "Men Dont Cheat"

Recorded Spoken Word Performances Featured Include:

Summer Durant - Future Not Fetish
Instagram: @summeraen

Lyrical Faith - Black Boy Joy
Instagram - @lyricalfaithpoetry
X - @bylyricalfaith
Facebook - @lyricalfaithpoetry

Black Chakra - I Spit Fire
Instagram - @blackchakra88
X - @blackchakra88

Barbara Fant - Brown Body Bending
Instagram - @iambarbarafant
Website -barbarafant.com
X - @iambarbarafant

Jesse Parent - To The Boys Who May One Day Date My Daughter
Instagram - @jesseparent

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In Volume Four: Chapter Eighteen we welcome Teaching Artist, Poet, Actress, and Author of the award-winning book "Still Laughin", Dara Kalima.

Contact Dara:
IG: @darakalima
Website: darakalima.com
X: @kaliskorner

Dara's Podcast: On Behalf Of
Purchase Dara's Book: Still Laughin'

Recorded Spoken Word Performances featured in this Chapter Included:

Alyeshia Wise - The Interview
IG: @alyeshiawise
X: @mswise
Website: alyeshiawise.com

Ebony Stewart - Mental Health Barz
Website: ebpoetry.com
IG: @gullyprincess
X: @ebpoetry

Ephriam Nehemiah - Afrofuturistic Fairy God Being
IG: @ephriamnehemiah

Ciara Chantelle - Empty Eyes
IG: @ciarachantelle
Website: ciarachantelle.com

Nelle Divine - Dont Fall in Love with a Giver
IG: @iamnelledivine

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Its the return of The Podcast and in it we welcome Educator, Poet, Spoken Word Artist, and Author of the poetry collection "This is Not a Poem", Crystal Stone.

From crystalbstone.com:
Crystal Stone is author of six collections of poetry including Knock-Off Monarch (2019), All the Places I Wish I Died(2021), Gym Bras(2022), Civic Duty (2022), This is Not a Poem (2023), and White Lies (Forthcoming, Fernwood Press 2024). Her poems have been published in numerous national and international poetry journals including The Threepenny Review, Salamander, poetry Daily and many others. She received her MFA from Iowa State University, where she gave a TEDx talk entitled 'The Transformative Power of Poetry.

You can contact Crystal:
IG: @justlikeastone8
X: @justlikeastone8
Website: crystalbstone.com

Follow The Podcast:
IG: @ethicallyimmoral
X: @poetryandconvo
Website: ethicallyimmoralpodcast.com
Threads: @ethicallyimmoral

Featured Spoken Word Artists:
Khalil Saadiq - Who Am I?
No Social Media or Website

Rudy Francisco - My Honesty
IG: @rudyfrancisco
X: @rudyfrancisco
Website: iamrudyfrancisco.com

Chanel Dupree - Delusions
IG: @artisticdaughter

Matt Capone - Learned With Love
IG: @matt__capone

Theresa Davis - Why I Do This
IG: @shepiratepoet
Website: artisttheresadavis.com

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In Volume Four: Chapter Sixteen, we welcome Teaching Artist, Poet, Spoken Word Artist and Author of the new book Mouths of Garden, friend of The Podcast Barbara Fant.

Connect with Barbara:
Twitter: @bloombarbfant
Website: barbarafant.com
IG: @bloombarbfant


Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Brandon Alexander Williams: Black Women Studies
IG: @brandonalexanderwilliams
Twitter: @moderndaygroit
Website: moderndaygriot.net

Rick Dove: A Poetic Conceit
IG: @rickdove
Website: rickdove.co.uk
Twitter: @multistable

RJ Wright: Soldiers Creed
IG: therealrjwright

Crystal Valentine: I am Black before woman in February
Website: crystalvalentinepoetry.com
IG: crystalvalentine94

Anita D: And The Psych Ward Says
Website: anitadpoetry.com
IG: anitadpoetry
Twitter: @anitadpoetry

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said Podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It Podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World Podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words Podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho Podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show

In Volume Four: Chapter Fifteen, we welcome Teaching Artist, Poet, Host of the podcast The Word Trap, Writer, and Author fr the poetry collection Rotten Soup, Zulmie Da Poet.  

Zulmie was born in New York and completed her undergraduate degree at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in History Liberal Arts and completed graduate studies at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia with a Master’s in Practical Theology.

She fell in love with poetry in middle school and started writing poetry in high school.

She is the Author of “Rotten Soup”  and currently resides in Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is an Educator professionally and conducts poetry workshops and is an advocate of self-love. Zulmie also hosts an IG Live biweekly show,  Zulmie’s Poetic Family and Friends in which she interviews fellow poets and creatives.

Connect with Zulmie:
Twitter: @zulmiedapoet
Website: zulmie.com
IG: @zulmiedapoet


Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Andra Gibson: For the Days I Stop Wanting to Have a Body
IG: @andrwgibby
Twitter: @andreagibson
Website: andreagibson.org

Dasan Ahanu: Conversation with God
IG: @dasanahanu
Website: dasanahanu.com
Twitter: @dasanahanu

Barbara Fant: Brown Bodies Bending
IG: @bloombarbfant
Website: barbarafant.com
Twitter: @bloombarbfant

Ephraim Nehemiah: 5 Stages of Grief for the Living
Twitter: @ephraimnehemiah
Website: ephraimnehemiah.com
IG: @ephraimnehemiah

Moody Black: 8 Letters
Website: iammoodyblack.com
IG: iammoodyblack
Twitter: @iammoodyblack

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show

In Volume Four: Chapter Fourteen, we welcome Teaching Artist, Poet, Performance Poet, Writer, Advocate, Author of the poetry collection Carnival, and co-founder of the Spoken Lit Movement, a Los Angeles-based arts organization designed to uplift and support poets both in and out of  L.A. , Alyesha Wise.

Alyesha is a published poet and TEDx speaker from Camden, N.J. Currently residing in LA, she is a teaching artist for Street Poets, Inc., an organization serving juvenile injustice-involved youth with mentorship and arts programming. Alyesha is a 2-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist with a stellar competing and coaching record. She has been featured on platforms and in publications such as Huffington Post, Bustle, Afropunk, PBS, POPSUGAR, Buzzfeed, and more. Other collabs include the ACLU of Southern California, Brave New Films, and  the Google Interstellar Project

Connect with Alyesha:
Twitter: @mswise
Website: alyeshawise.com
IG: @alyeshawise


Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Black Chakra: I Spit Fire
IG: @blackchakra88
Twitter: @blackchakra88

YaYa: Ling Ling
IG: @yayazhangpoet

Oompa: Space-Time Continuum
IG: @oompoutloud
Website: oompoutloud.com
Twitter: @oompoutloud

Alyesha Wise: Trauma

Alyesha Wise: Cannibal

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show

In Volume Four: Chapter Thirteen, we welcome teaching Artist, Poet, Performance Poet, Writer, Advocate, and Author of the upcoming poetry collection Refuse To Disappear, Dr Tara Betts.

Kankakee, IL born and Chicago-based Dr. Betts is the Author of two full length poetry collections Arc and Hue and Break the Habit, and has published a number of chapbooks including Switch, Can I hang, and Circling Unexpectedly. Dr. Betts received her BA in communications from Loyola University, her MFA in creative writing from New England College, and her PhD in English/Creative Writing from Binghamton University. Her newest full length poetry collection Refuse to Disappear will be released this June via Word Works Books

Connect with Tara:
Twitter: @tarabetts
IG: @chitownbetts

Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Meccamorphosis: Penny Dreadfuls
IG: @meccamorphosis
Website: meccamorphosis.com
Twitter: @meccaverdell

Asis Sampson: 90's Love
IG: @theasiaproject
Twitter: @theasiaproject
Website: theasiaproject.com

Dua Saleh : Pins and Needles
IG: @doitlikedua
Website: duasaleh.com
Twitter: @doitlikedua

Javon Johnson: Black and happy
IG: @javonism
Twitter: @javonism

Aman Batra: Ikea
IG: @amankbatra
Twitter: @amankbatra
Website: amankbatra.com

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show

 In Volume Four: Chapter Twelve, we welcome North Carolina-based Poet, Writer, Life Coach, Animal Advocate, and Entrepreneur, Jolanda Malone.

 Jolanda's non-profit organization Beartha was founded in January 2001 and named in honor of her grandmother Bertha. She says of living with her grandmother " growing up in the South Bronx we lived in a house that felt like a mansion. She always welcomed her home to neighbors , friends, families, people that needed help, and furry friends. She helped so many people get on their feet, rescued stray cats, and provided a safe haven that made people feel welcomed. Bertha means "Bright One" and she surely did Brighten my life and inspired me to make a community that Humans, Animals, and Nature will be important and can come together. This Non-Profit Organization is in Honor of her and how to left the world a better place than she found it".

She says that the core values of the organization is to L.I.V.E.:

Love: To Live a Life where you leave the world a better place than you found it through moving in LOVE

Inspire: We want to INSPIRE people to love their self and others 

Visualize: To Visualize your dreams and goals and Know you are capable of leaving the world a better place than you found it.

Educate: To Educate the community on how they can leave the world a better place.

Connect with Jolanda:
Website: beartha.org
IG: @beartha919

Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Ashley Lumpkin: Inheritance
IG: @lumplestiltizken
Website: lumplestiltizken.com
Twitter: @alump

Gabriel Ramirez: Whenever I Look Over My Balcony
IG: @ramirezpoet
Twitter: @ramirezpoet
Website: ramirezpoet.com

Summer Durant : Future not Fetish
IG: @summeraen
Website: summeraen.com
Twitter: @summera3n

Steven Willis: How The Hood Loves You Back
IG: @stevenantoinewillis
Website: stevenwillispoetry.com
Twitter: @stevenawillis

Ifrah Hussein: Tell Us
IG: @ifrahhussein
Twitter: @ifrahhussein_

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show

In Volume Four: Chapter Eleven, we welcome Poet, Spoken Word Artist, Author of the Chapbook Sprig of Lilac, Kelsey Bigelow. Her debut spoken word album Depression Holders and Secret Keepers is available now via all streaming platforms and via her website.

Kelsey Bigelow is based in Des Moines. She aims to be the motivator and mentor people don't always get in life. In her work, she molds incredibly specific emotions into something human, digestible, and cathartic. She believes we grow in empathy by talking about our shared experiences, no matter how difficult. As a multi-slam champion, published poet, workshop leader, and more, Kelsey is on a mission to show others two things:

​1. You can live the life you dream.

2. It does get better.

Connect with Kelsey:
Website: kelkaybpoetry.com
IG: @kelkaybpoetry

Recorded spoken word performances in this Chapter include:

Jus Marvin: My Depression
IG: @jusmarvinpoetry

Melissa Newman-Evans: 9 Things I Would Like to Tell Every Teenage Girl
Website: melissanewmanevans.com

Taalam Acey: Willie Lynch LLC
IG: @taalamacey
Website: taalamacey.com
Twitter: @taalamacey

Bella: Interpretation
IG: @bella_soul

Elizabeth Acevedo: Haor
IG: @acevedowrites
Website: acevedowrites.com
Twitter: @acevedowrites.com

Connect with, then listen and subscribe to the following podcasts we recommend:

The Words I Never Said podcast
IG: @gods_ink_spokenword

Life as We Grow It podcast
IG: @lifeaswegrowit
Twitter: @lifeaswegrowit

The Spoken World podcast
Twitter: @spokenpodcast
Website: thespokenwordpodcast
IG: @thespokenworld

Unspoken Words podcast
IG: @unspokenwordspodcast
Twitter: @beckythepoet
YouTube:  Unspoken Words
Website: beckythepoet.com

Journey with Mpho podcast
IG: @journeywithmpho
Website: journeywithmpho.com

Support the show