Taalam Acey Until 6am or Whenever You Leave

Thursday, May 5, 2011

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

May this message find you well. While I was away, I learned about a few new videos of me floating around on the web. Now that I'm back home, I figured I would share them with you in hopes that they'll add to your enjoyment. The first four are from a show I did earlier this year in Ft. Wayne, Indiana the last is from Fly Poet in LA, the largest monthly poetry event in the country. You can watch each video by clicking on it. In other news, the last time I was in Los Angeles (10/23/10) a group of Graffiti artists lead by Caprice Myles painted a mural of me in Watts. I've included a picture of the painting below so you can check it out. If you want to see a larger version of it, just click on the picture (or go to WLCAC and see it yourself at 10950 Central Ave in Watts. lol!).

"THRU A WEDDING RING"

"MARKET 4 NI$$AS (CENSORED)"

"EVERY MAN IN HERE"

"5 WOMEN"

"PERFORMING POEMS FROM B.O.S.S. SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 IN LOS ANGELES"

The last time I was in Los Angeles (10/23/10) a group of Graffiti artists lead by Caprice Myles painted a mural of me in Watts.

Also, please don't forget the newest project B.O.S.S. The Birth of Spoken Soul is out and spellbinding listeners while getting wonderful reviews from those who've supported it. Order your signed copy today at www.taalamacey.tv

thank you for everything!

-taalam

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

What I'll be doing at the largest poetry event in North America

As I mentioned, in an earlier message, I'm honored to be included in the largest poetry event in North America this coming weekend. Hopefully, this message will serve to provide you with more information about the festival and what my involvement will be. Since 1986, there have been twelve biennial Dodge Poetry Festivals, which now routinely attract audiences of 17,000 to 20,000. The Festival is the largest poetry event in North America. The Dodge Poetry Festival has involved over 500 Festival Poets, including Nobel Laureates, individual state and U.S. Poets Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winners. The Festival also provided the substance for 25 hours of national PBS television programming seen by more than 50 million people, including more than 20 hours with Bill Moyers and two Emmy-winning programs.

The following is what I’m scheduled to do at The Dodge Poetry Festival this coming weekend. All of my events occur early, Sunday, October 10th. Any of this may be subject to change, so please check www.dodgepoetry.org or the festival program for changes.

Conversation: Where Poetry Matters

Time: 9:00-10:10 AM

Location: Aljira

No one who has ever attended, performed in, produced or organized any one of the open mics, poetry jams or slams that have sprung up in community centers, church basements, libraries, bookstores, college or high school campuses, theaters, performance spaces, cafes or coffee shops in our urban centers would ever ask, “Does poetry matter?” How crucial, even life saving this avenue for self-expression and self-discovery is for so many of our urban youth is immediately, powerfully obvious at these events. Taalam Acey, Marjorie Barnes, Kyle Dargan and Juba Dowdell - four young poets straight out of Newark’s own poetry renaissance - will talk candidly about the place of importance poetry took on in their lives, and why it continues to matter to them and to the young people of Newark and our many urban centers.

Conversation: From Homer to Hip Hop

Time: 10:30-11:40 AM

Location: Chase Room

Homer’s Iliad is filled with horrific scenes of hand-to-hand combat described in gory detail. The women in his Odyssey – including Helen, Circe, Calypso and the Sirens are destructive, bewitching, jealous, vengeful and often quite dangerous to men and their humanity. It could be argued that the same charges made against rap and hip-hop – that they are violent and misogynistic – could be leveled against these two masterpieces of Western Literature. All the great epics from all cultures are filled with violence, as were the popular ballads of the Elizabethan and Romantic eras. It has been a central aspect of our oral tradition. Is it merely the distance of centuries that makes Homer’s violence tolerable to us? William Carlos Williams wrote, “It is hard to get the news from poems.” Could it be that some of us don’t want to hear the news in rap and hip-hop? What might connect the oral tradition’s long history of telling the news of its time and the emergence of rap and hip-hop in our times? (with Majorie Barnes, Marie Ponsot, and Michael Cirelli)

Festival Poetry Reading

Time: 12:00-1:00 PM

Location: CAE Auditorium

A one hour poetry reading shared between Taalam Acey, Matthew Dickman and Claudia Rankine. Each of us will read for fifteen to eighteen minutes.

My newest project B.O.S.S. The Birth of Spoken Soul will be available at the festival. If you aren't able to make it there, order your signed copy today at www.taalamacey.tv

thank you for everything!

-taalam

Friday, September 17, 2010

here's something provocative you'll serioulsy want to discuss with someone

Here's "Sex On The Table" a no holds barred piece from "The Birth of Spoken Soul" about male/female relationships. I'm seriously wondering what my friends will think of this. Just remember it's heartfelt sincerity. I'll bet you'll be discussing this one with friends for many days to come.

Find more on the CD click here to order yours today at

www.taalamacey.tv

thank you!

-taalam

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Welcome to The Birth of Spoken Soul

My work has been the beneficiary of a great deal of love over the years and I owe it to you to bring you nothing but inspired projects. A year ago, I stumbled upon a Wikipedia entry for “Spoken Word Soul.” It was primarily defined as an eclectic blend of Poetry and Jazz Funk. This intrigued me because that’s what I see this art form evolving into; earthy enough for poetry venues but also sophisticated enough for supper clubs. My name was listed in the article as one of the proponents of this nascent genre. Maybe I have helped, but honestly I took the mention as more of a call to action; a challenge of sorts.

“The Birth of Spoken Soul,” is a brand new project spurred by that challenge. It features my most current acapella work like “Worshipped,” “Permission to Speak,” and “Sex on the Table” (which, by the way, is not an erotic poem. lol!) and several more pieces all recorded in front of live audiences. Beyond that, “The Birth of Spoken Soul” features a few poems with my best fitting musical accompaniment to date. The CD transports you to an upscale jazz poetry venue to be immersed in what transpires. The poems and ambiance will take you to a venue thick with soulful atmosphere plus a vivid description of the club is interwoven into poems such as “Priestess” and “Soul Food Kitchen.” “The Birth of Spoken Soul” is a transcendent work and a major part of the new underground.

Pre-order your copy today at www.taalamacey.tv and be one of the first to play a part in this movement and to share in the Birth of Spoken Soul!