I would like to personally invite you to join Lanika Mabrey (aka Phoenix), all tha Underground Poetry Spot regulars, and others in the celebration of Lanika’s 36th birthday. Prepare for a night of family, friends, food, music and dancing the night away !!!

Music By: DJ Showcase from Power 106.9

In honor of my mother Salendria Mabrey in lieu of a gift prepare to bring a donation for the Determination Center. This is a community center my mother volunteered for. She loved the opportunity to work with the young people in our community. Join my family and I in keeping her memory alive. Please make all checks payable to The Determination Center. No amount is too great or too small! Together we can continue the legacy of a great woman. I thank you in advance for your contribution!

-Lanika

We are not hosting this spot or nothing…it’s just something some of us UP’s got an inbox message about. Definitely gonna check it out though, we poets have to support one another, and all tha spoken word venues that pop up in our city…

Maybe I’ll hit up Opus afterwards, too…can’t say for sure, yet… I’m still pretty exhausted from tha Phish show last night…

peace.

mtp

when: Wednesday, June 30th – TONIGHT
where: cafe 1555, corner of s. salina and e. kennedy (rear door) SYRACUSE, NY
what: all talents open-mic (vocals, instrumentals, skits, routines, etc..(…POETRY!!)

click here or on tha picture above to see tha event on Facebook

*************UPDATE***************

So that was a funny choice of words i decided to roll with earlier, because we definitely did host tha thing!!  Due to a last minute conflict schedule, Seneca and I were asked to co-host at Cafe 1555 - by a very well dressed gentlemen by tha name of Mark Muhammed. Mark himself shared a touching poem in tribute to his lovely wife, with whom, he mentioned, he has spent tha last 33 years. Others shared music and song, and we heard tha traditional poetry of Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, and tha original poetry of a young woman (and college student) named Shana, who recited a poem she wrote for her mother - beautifully, and without flaw. My friend and fellow poet/community organizer Victoria Coit lended a hand in setting up tha cafe and shared her “Dream, Syracuse” poem (perhaps not tha actual title, sorry!) and stole tha show. All in all it was a beautiful affair. Tha indoor air was filled with love, respect, and even tha smell of homemade cooking…! 

On a personal note, …i felt great tonight.  I think my own poetry was genuinely appreciated, as i know i appreciated tha opportunity to speak and to perform.  Though i did forget my “Foundation” poem at around line….um…2….and had to skip instantly to say…um…6 or so…and its only got fifteen or so lines…so…uh….maybe not my best showing…lol.  can’t win ’em all, i guess…

mtp 

Fellow Underground Poet, India Clark (aka Yaya) wrote this piece upon reading one of my poems on micthapoet.com – “Baby Don’t Maybe Me”

Hopefully more of tha Underground Poets will be posting some material here soon, too… and I certainly hope to continue to be able to inspire my peers from time to time….

I was so good at lonely  

I used to be in a box, confined to my own personal space, bothered by no one,
Almost in solitary confinement,
I have a desire to go back to that place…

A place where tears were only witnessed by my cheeks as they rolled down slowly, leaving stains because my fingers no longer had the strength needed to apply tissue there…I was lonely,

I had no one to talk to, so I allowed television to consume the last few hours of each day,
Sleep did not come easy, so I had an on going affair with face book and butter pecan ice cream at midnight…dam near every night…I was lonely,

I guess what I’m saying is…this relationship feels like a dead end street
You and I we are…beating a dead horse, going with the motions, we are not
Together…we are tolerating each other and for what?

You always come up with lame excuses as to why you can’t meet me for dinner,
Or tell me you have to work late and that I shouldn’t wait up for you, and it’s sad that I feel relieved when you do these things, why am I here…with you?

If these wall could talk they would have nothing to tell, I have lost count of how many times in a day that I tell you to go to hell, we sit on the couch together in complete silence, I cry at times…next to you and yet…you don’t notice or you do, and just do not care that I’m sad and down, and feel alone…

I used to be in a box, confined to my own personal space, bothered by no one,
Almost in solitary confinement,
I have a desire to go back to that place…

My life at least made sense, everything I did meant something; if only to me,
Maybe it was good that only my cheeks witnessed my tears, people tend to take advantage when you show weakness, I miss my affair with face book and butter pecan ice cream at midnight…dam near…every night,
Dam…I was so good…at lonely.

By India “Yaya” Clark 6/25/2010                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Click on tha link here, or on tha above picture to connect to India on Facebook.

Photo by KHALL Photography.

Well, following tha spirit of my eclectic self… i have been torn between musical choices for my evening… either drive to Rochester to see some amazing friends and to hear FURTHER kick off their summer tour, or stay right here at home to see a great hip-hop performance,  featuring tha nicest rappers reppin’ tha ‘Cuse – including our dude World Be Free, of course…

so i got found some further fest footage on youtube and decided to see what it would it would look like if i put Free’s U.P.S. track on it.  wait for it at about tha 1:25 mark, lol.

 i got a good laugh out of it anyway. There’s actually lots of great “moments” in this vid – like tha hippie apparently “dropping” something into his mouth at :45, or tha pink cowgirl at 3:00 who appears to want to walk directly into tha hula hooper… 

ah… good stuff… ENJOY !!! 

love both these songs for real tho.  i just love music. and i love tha scene.  tha whole scene, i mean.  u know… lookin at THA BIG PICTURE

peace

mtp

What up Family,

Last Thursday was so crazy at the UPS. It was emotional, inspirational, and fun. We even had three poets become an official Underground Poet. Congrats to Tiffany, Kaushen, and Carey Ann! I believe that was our best show of the year. We are definitely having Poetry out on the Patio next show, and because we didn’t have the stars show up until about 9:30pm, we will call the next show “Spoken Word with the Moon”. Shout out to Eric Darby (Nationally Acclaimed Poet) for hanging out with us.

Next Show will be Thursday July 15, 2010pm at 7pm-9pm ” Spoken Word with the Moon”. Judging from the last show, you don’t want to miss this one!

Also, Thursday July 8, 2010 we will be going down to the city, to show love to our Founding Host, Aaron Hudson, who has expanded the Underground Poetry Spot to The Grind Cafe on 39-24 Queens Blvd in Sunnyside NY.

-Seneca Wilson
Underground Poetry Spot Founder