The Poet Speaks Podcast
Based off of Spoken Word Artist Amanda Eke's global touring Spoken Word workshop, The Poet Speaks. The Poet Speaks Podcast has her talking to Spoken Word artists and performing poets from around the world. Tune in and listen to Amanda and other Spoken Word Artists talk about performing, oral tradition, and all things Spoken Word. And most importantly, they tell us why they need to get their words out. Check out new episodes weekly.
Episodes
April 7, 2024 • 47 mins
It's the Season 6 Finale!
Check out Amanda's conversation with Oombi Solis Flores!
Oombi Solis Flores (b. 1988) is a queer/non-binary immigrant, poet, and licensed clinical social worker. They were born in Zacatecas, México and reside in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Their work has previously been featured in Razorcake Issue #102, Sister Spit: QTPOC Cruising the West Tour, Altadena Literary Review 2020, innateDIVINITYBooks' A Ca...
Check out Amanda's conversation with Oombi Solis Flores!
Oombi Solis Flores (b. 1988) is a queer/non-binary immigrant, poet, and licensed clinical social worker. They were born in Zacatecas, México and reside in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Their work has previously been featured in Razorcake Issue #102, Sister Spit: QTPOC Cruising the West Tour, Altadena Literary Review 2020, innateDIVINITYBooks' A Ca...
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March 31, 2024 • 48 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Alexander James!
Alexander James is a man of many talents and accomplishments. He was born and raised in South LA and has used his experiences to become a successful poet, father, pastor, truth teller, and professional in his field. As an 2022 Addy and Webby Award-winning poet, Alexander has made a name for himself in the creative world. He has also become a respected Poetry Coach, helping aspiri...
Alexander James is a man of many talents and accomplishments. He was born and raised in South LA and has used his experiences to become a successful poet, father, pastor, truth teller, and professional in his field. As an 2022 Addy and Webby Award-winning poet, Alexander has made a name for himself in the creative world. He has also become a respected Poetry Coach, helping aspiri...
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March 24, 2024 • 27 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Neeta Rare!
Spoken Word Artiste, Voice Actor, Social Worker, Public Presentation Trainer, And Multi In Many Ways. Neeta Rare Was Finalist For The UBA Africa Poetry Day Contest, 2018. She Was Nominated For The Illustrious African Writers Awards As Outstanding Spoken Word Artiste Of The Year, By BEWA Africa In 2021. She Is A Semifinalist And Notable Mention At The SprinNG Poetry Contest, 2022. She ...
Spoken Word Artiste, Voice Actor, Social Worker, Public Presentation Trainer, And Multi In Many Ways. Neeta Rare Was Finalist For The UBA Africa Poetry Day Contest, 2018. She Was Nominated For The Illustrious African Writers Awards As Outstanding Spoken Word Artiste Of The Year, By BEWA Africa In 2021. She Is A Semifinalist And Notable Mention At The SprinNG Poetry Contest, 2022. She ...
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March 17, 2024 • 37 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Mister Motivation!
Mister Motivation (Shaun Murphy) is an Army Veteran, and motivational EDU-tainer; A hip hop spoken word artist, Motivational Speaker, and musician. When he takes the stage, you get high level energy and stylish presentations where he uniquely combines his own original music and spoken word with motivational speaking. He uses his story, words, and music to provide purpose, dir...
Mister Motivation (Shaun Murphy) is an Army Veteran, and motivational EDU-tainer; A hip hop spoken word artist, Motivational Speaker, and musician. When he takes the stage, you get high level energy and stylish presentations where he uniquely combines his own original music and spoken word with motivational speaking. He uses his story, words, and music to provide purpose, dir...
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March 10, 2024 • 30 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with IB!
Abu Ibrahim popularly known as "IB" is a socially conscious poet whose work has caused tremendous influence and change both locally. He sees poetry as a powerful tool to cause positive change and redefine society. In 2021, he was part of a group of poets who advocated that the Recording Academy make spoken word poetry at the Grammys and this led to the birth of the “Best Spoken Word Poetry A...
Abu Ibrahim popularly known as "IB" is a socially conscious poet whose work has caused tremendous influence and change both locally. He sees poetry as a powerful tool to cause positive change and redefine society. In 2021, he was part of a group of poets who advocated that the Recording Academy make spoken word poetry at the Grammys and this led to the birth of the “Best Spoken Word Poetry A...
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March 3, 2024 • 30 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Emily Lee Luan!
Emily Lee Luan is the author of 回 / Return, a winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize, and I Watch the Boughs, selected by Gabrielle Calvocoressi for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship. A former Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2021, Best New Poets 2019, America...
Emily Lee Luan is the author of 回 / Return, a winner of the Nightboat Poetry Prize, and I Watch the Boughs, selected by Gabrielle Calvocoressi for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship. A former Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop and the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2021, Best New Poets 2019, America...
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February 25, 2024 • 59 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Matt Sedillo!
Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle". His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Alan Ginsberg, Carl Sandburg and various other legends of the past. Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival,...
Matt Sedillo has been described as the "best political poet in America" as well as "the poet laureate of the struggle". His work has drawn comparisons in print to Bertolt Brecht, Roque Dalton, Amiri Baraka, Alan Ginsberg, Carl Sandburg and various other legends of the past. Sedillo was the recipient of the 2017 Joe Hill Labor Poetry award, a panelist at the 2020 Texas book festival,...
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February 18, 2024 • 45 mins
Welcome to Season 6 of The Poet Speaks Podcast! For our season opener, we have Major Jackson!
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems (2023), The Absurd Man (2020), Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006), and Leaving Saturn (2002), which won a Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga fo...
Major Jackson is the author of six books of poetry, including Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems (2023), The Absurd Man (2020), Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006), and Leaving Saturn (2002), which won a Cave Canem Poetry Prize for a first book of poems. His edited volumes include: Best American Poetry 2019, Renga fo...
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March 26, 2023 • 43 mins
It's the Season 5 Finale of The Poet Speaks Podcast!For our last episode of Season 5 we have Jack Dawkins!
Jack Dawkins is a storyteller, a rapper, and a poet. But before all of that, he honed his entrepreneurial skillsets across various industries, including hospitality, consulting, and fitness. His use of the English language has been compared to Michael Phelps’ performance on Saturday Night Live: Wildly entertaining for none of...
Jack Dawkins is a storyteller, a rapper, and a poet. But before all of that, he honed his entrepreneurial skillsets across various industries, including hospitality, consulting, and fitness. His use of the English language has been compared to Michael Phelps’ performance on Saturday Night Live: Wildly entertaining for none of...
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March 19, 2023 • 41 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Justin Patton! Justin is a spoken word artist based out of Atlanta by way of Chattanooga, TN. He is an author of his collection of poems entitled Poetry for the Hopefully. He is the curator of his monthly show ‘Soul Therapy’, brand ambassador for Urban Grind Coffee House located in Atlanta, creator of The Poet’s Perspective Podcast, and blogger where he has written over 200 articles.
Justin's Lin...
Justin's Lin...
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March 12, 2023 • 43 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with LaLa DeVille! Lala is a writer, poet, spoken word artist and self published author from Compton Ca, currently residing in Long Beach, Ca. Known for performing in Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes and being dubbed "The Queen in Chucks," LaLa has been a featured poet for Kevin's Cause Suicide Prevention And Awareness 5K run in 2016, S.W.A.A.M. Spoken Word Art and Music, The 2018 Pan African Film Festi...
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February 26, 2023 • 31 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Ashley Renee! Ashley is a writer, author and spoken word poet originally from Chicago, Illinois who has resided in Los Angeles for the past 8 years. Ashley hosts a monthly open mic + black culture trivia night at legacy lounge called: Pardon my poetry. Ashley's first poetry album, Flowers won’t fix this, is out now!
Ashley's Links:
@ashleyreneepoet on Instagram
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks...
Ashley's Links:
@ashleyreneepoet on Instagram
Be sure to check out The Poet Speaks...
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February 19, 2023 • 36 mins
This week we have on the podcast, Heather Pease! Heather (she/her) gives a loud voice to what has been silenced, by removing shame. As a survivor of assault, she hopes her words shimmer and resonate as she exposes the humanity of being flawed, addressing stigmatizations with blunt, riveting force, where nobody gets off the hook. Heather’s debut poetry collection is Out of the Weeds. Her work has appeared in Literary Journals such a...
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February 12, 2023 • 56 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Bridgette Bianca! Bridgette is a poet and professor from South Central Los Angeles. Her first book of poetry, be/trouble, was released by Writ Large in 2020. When she is not sharing her poetry, she hosts two instagram series, Young, Black, and Tenure-Track where she documents her experiences in higher education and We Be Readin! Wednesdays where she discusses her romance reading obsession!
Bridge...
Bridge...
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February 5, 2023 • 45 mins
Welcome to the podcast, Kyle Tran Myhre! Kyle Tran Myhre (also known as Guante) is a poet, educator, and activist based in Minneapolis. His work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance, and he’s performed everywhere from the United Nations, to music festivals like Eaux Claires and Soundset, to countless colleges, universities, and conferences. A member of two National Poetry Slam championship teams, Tran...
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January 28, 2023 • 68 mins
Welcome to the Season 5 premiere of, The Poet Speaks Podcast! Our first guest of the season is, Sapphire! Author of Push, American Dreams, The Kid, and Black Wings & Blind Angels. Push: A novel, won the Book-of-the-Month Club’s Stephen Crane award for First Fiction, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s First Novelist Award, and in Great Britain, the Mind Book of the Year Award. Named by the Village Voice and T...
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October 23, 2022 • 51 mins
Welcome to the Season 4 Finale of, The Poet Speaks Podcast! Check out as Amanda wraps season 4 with K.M.A.! Kimberly M Anderson also known as KMA is a “coloured” or mixed race poet from South Africa.Coming from the small town of eShowe in KwaZulu-Natal, she found her voice through poetry and started the Turning Pain into Power movement or journey as she calls it. Her poems speak of what it is like being a coloured /mixed race woman...
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October 16, 2022 • 38 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Blue! Blue is a Thai interdisciplinary visual artist and poet based in California. Her works explore feminist themes through a surreal aesthetic that highlights the morbid in the mundane. Born and raised in Thailand, Blue is inspired by the complicated relationship she has with her home country. Her works employ punchy and subversive visual language to convey an expressive and rebellious inquiry...
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October 9, 2022 • 37 mins
Check out Amanda's conversation with Kiz Manley! Kiz's older sister, Promila, died in a car accident in 2000. PTSD ensued without diagnosis. She was trained to teach English & Drama. When her father died in 2010, she was recovering from an undiagnosed delayed traumatised grief reaction and breakdown. This is when she discovered therapeutic writing. Hip Hop HEALS began as a mental health inequality project. Hip Hop HEALS delivers po...
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October 2, 2022 • 33 mins
We welcome to The Poet Speaks Podcast, Rachel Ferguson! Rachel is co-owner of Ryozan Park and executive director of Kosodate Village NPO. She has a degree in literature and master’s degrees in Japanese gender studies and creative writing. Originally from Scotland, Rachel also works as a voice artist and, in her spare time, loves reading and writing poetry, playing music and walking in the woods with her two young children. Rachel i...
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