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Creating Empty Space

The latest album came from my desire to s l o w d o w n. I feel comfortable in a slow space, but sometimes get caught up in the story of being “busy.” No more. These songs came to me from that spirit. Some of the tracks were unfinished songs on my hard drive […]

The United States of Anxiety (a spoken word poem)

Welcome to the United States of Addiction. In this country, your smart phone holds more meaningful moments than your memory. Here, social media is social justice and history is a hashtag for broken screens to get their fix. Here, fame doesn’t lead to fortune – just first-world problems. Echo chambers for people at war with […]

Grammy nomination? Almost

How does it feel to be officially eligible for a Grammy nomination? REALLY GOOD. The nominations were announced this morning, but “empath” didn’t make the top 5. The Spoken Word category is full of celebrities reading books – Jimmy Carter, David Sedaris, Questlove, Tiffany Haddish, Courtney Vance. “empath” made the top 234 albums for the […]

Help me get a GRAMMY nomination!

My album with Quentin E. Baxter has made it to the ballot for Best Spoken Word album. For us to get an *official nomination*, we need votes from NARAS and Recording Academy members. If you know any Recording Academy members, will you send them this graphic? And tell them I’ll give them a hug. Please.

2018 Free Verse poetry festival

I’m overjoyed to bring another poetry festival to Charleston. How does this year differ from last year? For one thing, I think it’s important to … simplify. Last year was phenomenal, but felt scattered. So, I decided to limit the events to one week: October 17-24. The public art projects will happen throughout the month. […]

Poet in residence at Zero George

I was the poet in residence at the lovely Zero George, a stunning hotel and restaurant in downtown Charleston. I connected with the Zero George staff over an encouraging and honest conversation about making sure that spaces like this feel … open. And welcoming. Earlier this year, I did a poetry reading and workshop at […]

Commencement speech for the Arts Institute of Charleston

The fine folks at the Arts Institute of Charleston asked me to be the commencement speaker for the 2018 graduating class. I’ve never done that before, so it was an honor to grace the stage and meet the scholars. I'm about to do the commencement speech for the graduates of @AiCharleston at @CHSMusicHall. Number of […]

Walter Edgar’s Journal, SC Public Radio

Walter Edgar’s Journal. Now there’s a name that is familiar with a lot people in South Carolina. I’ve listened to his shows for a long time and never really considered the fact that I would have a chance to be on it! Well. Here I am: http://southcarolinapublicradio.org/post/peace-voices After this appearance, I received A LOT of […]

Cheryl Boyce-Taylor, mother of Phife (ATCQ)

Friends, this is Cheryl Boyce-Taylor. She’s the mother of Phife (Malik Taylor), from A Tribe Called Quest. A. TRIBE. CALLED. QUEST. One of the first things I *ever* wrote was a rap based on one of Phife’s verses, in 1991. It’s because of Tribe that I sharpened my writing skills. It’s because of Tribe that […]

The genius of Ani DiFranco

In honor of National Poetry Month, the most impactful poet I’ve ever read is Ani DiFranco. Her wordplay, politics, art direction and DIY ethic have been HIGHLY influential on my work. Some examples of the lyrical genius::: “More and more there is this animal looking out through my eyes at all the wires in the […]