Dear Ann Arbor Slam Patrons and Related Bipedal, Carbon-Based Life Forms,
I hereby remind you that the Ann Arbor Slam, featuring LaShaun Phoenix Moore from the Detroit Slam scene, convenes this coming Tuesday, August 1st at 7:30 at our long(real long)time venue, The Heidelberg.
Please come. Bring your new poems to read. Slam them if you wish. If you’re looking to qualify for our team next year, you’re going to have to finish 1st or 2nd in one of our monthly slams. So get busy on that.
We’ll have lots of open mike.
The attendance has been swell recently and Significant Moral Uplift has been achieved.
We’re ready for you.
Sincerely,
The Management
Ann Arbor Poetry Slam
LaShaun’s Bio:
For me, singing and writing is not a luxury, nor just a means to acquire material wealth. Singing and writing are the vehicles by which I connect to the soul of the listener, penetrating their heart and mind with rich vocals and words alive with significance. When musicians and writers cannot compel the listener into positive action with their music and words, then they have misused the pure potential of their gift; they have made a mockery of what God has given freely – the power to influence.
I desire for my music and writing to be the poetry that influences the black/urban/hip-hop community to rediscover a love for itself. This love will promote a desire to unify with other cultures and restore this world to a harmonious rhythm. The rhythm of nature. The rhythm of life.
My name is LaShaun phoenix Moore and I have been performing music and poetry for the past ten years. I have been a regular feature for venues in Detroit, New York, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh’s hottest coffeehouses, jazz bars, and venues since 1996. My style of music and poetry is generally centered on African Americans and their cultural, spiritual, and sexual awareness. While some of my poems and songs have been controversial because of the blatant issues that they address, they have been highly favored by many of the Midwest’s elite poets and varied musical audiences since the beginning of my career.
I am in the completion stages of my first book: Absence of Smoke & Mirrors which includes a foreword by former Features Editor of Essence Magazine and noted author, poet and activist, asha bandele. I have self-published two chapbooks: Mind Jewels and Interlude to the Daydream. I have also compiled a compact disc sampler of my work entitled It Was Probably Intentional. Additionally, I have a poem and song recorded on the Beachland Ballroom Anthology and have a poem published in the anthology My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions From Black Daughters To Their Fathers edited by Melda Beaty.
I have been a featured artist at several venues and have developed quite a following for my work – both musically and poetically. I have had the wonderful opportunity to share stages with Khary Kimani Turner, Aurora Harris, Da Boogie Man, The Black Poetic Society, Nu Urban Soul Essentials, Jessica care Moore, Third Eye Open Collective, Black Ink Collective, The Last Poets, Saul Williams, Slum Village, Dead Prez, Mos Def, and The Roots. I was a coach for the 2004 Detroit National Poetry Slam Team. I am currently assistant coach for the 2005 Detroit National Poetry Slam Team and donate my time weekly to at-risk teens in Detroit at the Vanguard Community Outreach Center.
As you can see clearly, I do not take my music or poetry lightly. Nor do I take lightly the seriousness of how my words affect the general public. As a poet and activist, I uphold the responsibility of nurturing my community with life-breathing words. I want the opportunity to touch lives; you have the platform for me to access those lives. Let’s help each other help others!