Mojavi

Mojavi was the co-founder of the reading known as Soul Kitchen, where every second Thursday of the month, he was a writer in residence and the DJ known as SANKOFA GROOVE who lays the atmospheric vibe. A well traveled poet, he has performed and featured Poetical Havens at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Sugar Shack, AS220 in Rhode isalnd and Mango’s in Washington D.C.. He has published a chapbook called Verbal Hieroglyphics vol.1 and the forthcoming Vol.2 due out in October. He is also going to release his third book KOLLAGE:words, thought, images in November 2003

POEMS

• State of Education
• Beautiful Words Verse Two

RECENT ARTICLES

• Tom Nattell Memorial Beret Toss and Open Mic, January 30
  Since 2005 this has been an annual event, first at the Lark Tavern, now at McGeary's on Clinton Square in Albany (NY). We started in 2005 when Poets Speak Loud! began as an open mic on the last Monday in January. Tom Nattell, who had been the host of...
  
  
• Urban Guerilla Theater, January 20
  After the Yes! Reading I raced (not quite) up Central Ave. to WAMC’s Linda Auditorium for the monthly gathering of UGT. I thought I’d be late, but Mojavi had just taken the stage & was talking about getting smacked as a kid by his mother in the supermarket. He must’ve been soooo cute!
  
  
• Nitty Gritty Slam #10, January 17
  At some of the previous Slams here at Valentines, notably #9, the scores were so uniformly high, no matter what was performed, that it was like the judges were all clones, or smoking on the same crack pipe.
  
  
• NGS #10 Results ? The Golden Boy Takes the Top Prize
  A couple of weeks ago Mojavi said that this was going to happen. He said that we would be seeing a new face take first place and he was right. Ben Golden, who had been [...]
  
  
• Nitty Gritty Slam #10 Tuesday, January 17
  Come out and join us for the next installment of the Nitty Gritty Slam at Valentines on Tuesday, January 17. At the last slam, NGS #9, Elizag took the top spot with Shannon “In The [...]
  
  
• Mojavi in the Living Room, Guy Reed-ing in Woodstock, Occupying Words at the UAG, and more
  The upstate poetry and spoken word scene is one of the busiest in the country and the next week is no different. Here are a few events of note that are coming up in our [...]
  
  
• NGS#9 Results ? New Year, New Faces, New Champ
  What a great way to kick off 2012! The poets gathered at Valentines this past Tuesday for the 9th edition of the Nitty Gritty Slam. After taking a little abuse about his pink sweater Mojavi [...]
  
  
• Nitty Gritty Slam #9 Tonight at Valentines
  The poetry slam thrives in Albany! Come on out and slam or check out some of the amazing poet-performer-MCs that make up the Albany slam community. Come out and join us for the next installment [...]
  
  
• NGS #8 Results ? Meet the New Champ, Same as the Old Champ
  With just a couple of days before Christmas and on the first night of Hanukkah the poets gathered at Valentines for the eighth installment of the Nitty Gritty Slam. The night started off with a [...]
  
  
• NGS #7 Results ? A Rainy Night in Albany
  We had a small, but mighty crowd at Valentines for the seventh installment of the Nitty Gritty Slam. The rain and sudden cold weather kept some poets away from the heat of the spoken word, [...]
  
  

STATE OF EDUCATION

Shaquanna is at it again

once more, a walk to the door/given the exit by circumstance

her mouth a dance a/LOUD, annoying, confusing,disrespectful

She does not want to take this test, she will not take this test

Boisterous this one is /growing LOUDER, DEMANDING attention

Through spit balls and smacking necks, unnecessary trips to the bathroom

Talking/ to and about /Nikki

who we all know now through Shaquanna’s blatant wispers

“Nikki’s father is in jail and her mother is on welfare

She saw her on the street collecting can’s in a cart

no name brand clothes for her except Wal Mart

You remember the day food stamps fell out of her bag

or the time she wore white pants that let us know she was on the rag

and I had to sound off on her, her non affording tampon or wings, not even inserts

you must be a jerk walking around with tissue in your panties, you better check for the nurse”

…”Stupid Bitch!”

Nikki was made an example of/sad eyes and face of no tears

she cries inside/as to not to incite her peers/they laugh at her pain/Shaquanna shifts blame

as she pleads for temporary insanity/candidly assauging her vanity

“She was asking for it, I SWEAR!..it’s not my fault everbody laughs..she’s pitiful

I ain’t got nuthin to do with that, oh yu still gonna write a referral card?..FINE!

Send me then! what is a referral anyway?

I got 30 of em so far and I ain’t been suspended yet!

what is an hour to me? I still get home in time to watch Yugi OH and Cartoon Network

SHeeeeeeeit!(What did you say?!) I said nuthing GAWD!

you don’t know me very well, I been kicked out of 3, count them, three elementary schools

this is my second juniror high, you can’t stop me. don’t even say anything to me…..

Call my mother, I ‘ll play you in front of her, tell her that you said that you are the liar, I ‘ll say that you talked unproffesional to me, that you said i would be pregant by the time i am 16, and i will be on welfare getting a check on the 1st and 15th.

I’ll tell her that Nikki said something about her and you know that my mother don’t play that gonna interrupt her on her second job my mother works! and you just gonna bother her she ain’t gonna come in anyway she has not been to a parent teacher conference yet!!!

and she do not come in on her days off.. you can forget about it!!

as a matter of fact i will get you fired , you look at my breasts too much!

YES, I AM LEAVING GAWD!!!

Sitting in the Principals offiice/She has a devilish grin/She knows they can’t hold her

She always does enough to pass

BEAUTIFUL WORDS VERSE TWO

you ain’t a poet
just cause you write some words
It don’t mean nuthin’”
I said: “OH I SEE!”
I guess POETS are supposed to be wearing all black
With a beret tilted to the side
Using wispy words to explain their existence
Ranting and raving about armchair political bull*bleep*
And why life is uglier than a muth!@#er
Granting tributary words to favorite poets
who have been dead for tens to hundreds of years
all my fears vented and circumvented
in a open mic for 3-5 minutes
for an audience binded by their own needs
to express, some to impress my best guess
they were all doing it for the love of poetry
but my poetry will make like a tree and leave
If a tree poet has plain poetry up his sleeve
Diarrhea of the mouth speaking *bleep*
Like they got a need to relieve
And that ain’t poetry
Poetry is like a seed
Literally water it, lyrically it sprouts
Rooting itself in the earth of ! imagination’s doubts
Spouting emotional shouts
Of what is and can be
Poetry is the universe of me
And I am GOD………….like
And in the beginning there was the pen
And the pen begat word and word was life
And I am creating soliloquies in the image of me
The poet, the pen and pad is a holy trilogy
I produce heaven and hell with my judgement
I write to bother, to shun, to spirit
Improving upon silence if no one needs to hear it
In the world which is my pad
And all works of my pen reflect me
Poetry is the universe of me
Is this too much blasphemy
How about inner city
Imagine me on some pimp poetree
Whorin’ metaphor and I run the game
Sweet release be her name
More action than a verb while she walks the curb
Waiting for the next trick with some cash for that a$$ tonight
Smacking up my lyrics when my ballads ain’t actin right
Don’t you know Mack daddy makes his G’s pimpin “P’s”
To all the hoet’s and wanna be’sNo?! how aboutbe addicted to the flow
Addict, Grammatically Chall enged not to be confused
Better yet, I am Poem dependant
Sharing verses in back alleyway cafes
With fellow fiends getting high off of
Two bit limericks, shooting up sonnets, O-D-ing on Odes
Cause all works of my pen reflect me
Poetry is the universe of me
My poetry is a hymn of my soul singing
And if you read between the lines
you will find the essence in my upbringing
in Elegies and Epics of time
my writing keeps me sane
like a complicated jazz riff from John Coltrane
and yes, my poetry be like Jazz man real Jazz
Pizazz and dazz with cool cats, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn Scats
Mingus and Monk on the Ivories, with Bird and Trane on Sax
Miles Davis on the trumpet and Elvin Jones on the Taps
Playing out the Celestial Symphony
And Jazz
Jazz be like Poetry
And Poetry is the translation of me
And I write for my soul, my history, the beauty and tragedy
Of all life is, was and can be
And it does not matter what you see
Poetry is the universe of me
Real