CONNECT WITH MICHAEL JASSO &
LOUD MOUTH POETRY JAM
michaelajasso@gmail.com
Michael Jasso – (559) 667-5650
IG: @artsvisalia
IG: @loudmouthpoetryjam
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxNMssd-lCFOAoutYmjTNMg/featured
CONNECT WITH MICHAEL JASSO &
LOUD MOUTH POETRY JAM
michaelajasso@gmail.com
Michael Jasso – (559) 667-5650
IG: @artsvisalia
IG: @loudmouthpoetryjam
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCxNMssd-lCFOAoutYmjTNMg/featured
“Said the sun to the moon
Said the head to the heart
we have more in common
Than sets us apart”
From Let the Light Pour In by Lemn Sissay
——————
What we have in common is trying to make sense of it all. Peering up at the giant mystery from which we pull order, design and beauty. Sharing storytelling from the wonder.
“The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.”
— Sir Arthur Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World (1927)
One could argue we haven’t come much closer to being able to imagine the truth of everything in the last century. And yet we still answer the cosmic pull to try.
——————
“How long ’til my soul gets it right
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light
I call on the resting soul of Galileo king of night vision
King of insight”
— Galileo by The Indigo Girls
An opening prayer of sorts. An attempt to get it right. An effort to articulate the ineffable.
——————
“When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.”
——————
From established writer:
LEE BALLENTINE
Poets operate on the level of metaphor and symbolic reasoning. We also focus on emotions, the non-cognitive processes of the mind. It’s only possible to communicate on a cognitive level if you share a basic platform of common concerns with someone. Communication works when you communicate about something both parties care about. Without emotion, communication is just an annoying noise in your ear.
Carl Sagan, author of the novel Contact, was interested in poetry. When he produced his science television series Cosmos, he included poetry and worked with Diane Ackerman—a great poet whose work I published in my anthology POLY in the 1980s. Diane was Carl’s poetry consultant for Cosmos and advised him on the poetry selections.
If we do encounter alien intelligences out in space, it’s highly likely that we will best be able to connect with them on a symbolic and metaphorical level. What will we have in common with them?
• Death, almost certainly.
• Some kind of relation to the enormousness and emptiness of space—their version of the loneliness of the explorer.
• Something corresponding to our experience of beauty.
Whatever aliens are like, the skills of a mathematician may be needed to open communications with them, but the skills of a poet will be needed to say anything they will care to hear or be able to understand.
——————
“Some celestial event…no…no words…
no words to describe it…poetry…
they should’ve sent a poet… so beautiful…
beautiful… so beautiful… so beautiful…
I had no idea… I had no idea”
— Jodie Foster as Dr. Eleanor Ann “Ellie” Arroway in Contact (1997)
Whether the subject is astronomy, theoretical mathematics, quantum physics, bio-chemistry or something along the lines of the humanities, it is often poetry that is best suited to bridge those gaps and traverse those expanses between us. To find commonality and community amidst our seemingly insurmountable differences. Poetry brings us together and makes us more happy that we are.
——————
“We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names.”
— Nikita Gill
——————
“Contemplate the stars. Each one gifted with its own glittering like you are.”
— Maxima Kahn
I have contemplated the stars, the planets including our own, as well as my own individual glittering. I have meditated upon the entire universe as well as my tiny place in it and I’ve brought four original pieces, written specifically for today to share with everyone.
——————
Order of Pieces To Share:
Flash Flood
The Night Sky
Remembered Well
Into the Fullness
——————
How do you do it? said night.
How do you wake and shine?
I keep it simple. said light.
One day at a time.
From Let the Light Pour In by Lemn Sissay
——————
You may be shocked to hear this
but I am not ashamed
My mother is my therapist
and Nature is her name
Silently assessing something’s amiss
always showing me why I came
Choosing to illuminate bliss
rather than on focusing blame
She allows me to ask the questions
helping guide me to the answers
I don’t yet know I seek and need
Aiding my breathing and digestion
while my heart is training to be a dancer
and my soul is somehow freed
Arriving armed with excuses I begin to wander
my therapist always intent on disarming me
My selfish shadow’s desire to conquer
far outweighed by spirit’s desire for harmony
She lassos, levitates and leads my dreams
my stampeding herd of thoughts she culls
She whispers and at times she screams
evoking and provoking as she pushes and pulls
My illusion of control keeps me from being free
letting go is the best way to advance
As I move with her she moves in me
teaching my tender heart how to dance
She is always available whenever I need her
I can call on her fixes day or night
As my vision’s a blur she gives spirited stir
and mixes me well with the light
♾️
Written for:
SAGEBRUSH TO SANDSTONE:
POETRY IN THE PARK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th, 2024
4–6pm at Crissie Caughlin Park
Stillness
There remain magical places left in the world where, If you are still enough, you can hear the distant echoes which may tell you stories you wish to know.
Along well worn paths, those less travelled, and where trailblazers haven’t yet been there are storytellers taking forms which blend into the land itself.
Looking up at the sky, listening intently,
through the calls of the Ruby Crown Kinglets, the chatter of the Robins, the songs of the House Finches, the alerting awareness of the Scrub Jays and the playful fluttering of the Cedar Waxwings we can hear the echoes of the ancient chants over the fire from the ceremonial processions of the Numu or Northern Paiute people.
Sifting the soil beneath the hearty roots of the coyote willow we can hear the echoes of lighthearted conversations of the Wašiw or Washoe people weaving the fibrous branches of old into vessels for serving feasts
Below the stones lining the river’s edge helping to provide flowing life to the region we can hear the echoes of blessings and prayers spoken over a nursing child by their
Newe or Western Shoshone mother who was doing the same as the river then.
Amongst the thorns of the woods rose, floating on the shifting wind, we can hear the echoes of those nameless and unknown longing to belong and be loved.
We observe the birds.
We trod the earth.
We lay our hands upon the river rocks.
We feel the flow of the water
filtering through the past
bringing us up to date.
We hear the echoes of their stories
when we are still enough to do so,
which then move us into action
by first moving us within.
Placing our own hands upon our chest
we feel the feedback of the child
who once lived in this same body
We hear the echoes of them wanting
us to live in more harmony with the land
in more peace with each other
and in more appreciation
of these aging stories
we are sometimes unwittingly surrounded by
That we may surround ourselves
with unknown strangers
who become friends
by listening to their stories
and remaining still together
That we may surround each other
with calls, stories, songs, blessings,
conversations and prayers of love.
♾️♾️♾️
Written for:
SAGEBRUSH TO SANDSTONE:
POETRY IN THE PARK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th, 2024
4–6pm at Crissie Caughlin Park
University of Nevada English Department
https://www.unr.edu/english/people/gailmarie-pahmeier
The House on Breakaheart Road
Nevada Arts Council-Nevada Poet Laureate
Introduction
Nevada Arts Council-Nevada Poet Laureate
Farewell Address
Academy of American Poets
https://poets.org/poet/gailmarie-pahmeier
Manzano Mountain Review (3 Poems)
https://manzanomountainreview.com/gailmarie-pahmeier-poem-4
Nevada Independent Question & Answer
Reno News and Review
Nevadan to Nevadan
NEXT UP ON THE MICROPHONE…
BIO:
Ms.AyeVee is an award-winning Afro-latina Literary Artist from Las Vegas, NV.
She is a woman of many hats with a passion for Poetry. Her work has been featured by the legendary All Def Poetry, Write About Now & Button Poetry. Ms. AyeVee has also been recognized by Las Vegas Book Festival, NPR & The US Congress for advancing the cause of literacy & extraordinary literary achievement. In 2022 Ms. AyeVee was selected as an official TEDx speaker for Las Vegas. She also runs a Las Vegas based poetry organization called, Beyond the Neon ( @btnpoetry ) that focuses on poetry exclusive events and community outreach. Ms.AyeVee is currently promoting her new poetry collection, Broken Silence.
Follow her poetic journey at…
https://linktr.ee/Msayevee
Writing Prompt(s):
Write in response to the title
“BROKEN SILENCE”
Book Link:
https://c54c26.myshopify.com/products/broken-silence
According to urban dictionary Broken silence is the silence that drowns a situation after hearing or witnessing something heartbreaking.
According to Collin’s Dictionary If someone breaks their silence about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time.
.
Tapestry of Nevada Poets – Las Vegas Book Festival – Ms AyeVee (Ashley Vargas)
.
Desert Flowers – Ted Talk – Ashley Vargas
Ms AyeVee
.
Bruce Isaacson presents : Poet Ms AyeVee
(Ashley Vargas)
.
MONDAY NIGHT POETRY: Spotlight Feature
Rundown:
March 4th, 2024
(Season 3, Session 10)
.
3:00PM – Doors Open
5:30PM – Sign-Ups Open
6:00PM – Prompt Open
6:30PM – Mic Open (8 Slots)
✨✨Brief Intermission✨✨
Openers:
First – Pax Robinson
@flamingpaxalot
Second – Griffin Peralta
@griffinspiration
.
Poetry Book Club-March Poet of Study &
💥💥💥SPOTLIGHT FEATURE💥💥💥
💥💥💥💥Ms. AyeVee 💥💥💥💥
@msayevee
.
Event:
MONDAY NIGHT POETRY
Weekly Open Poetry Mic
@mondaynightpoetrynv
Since January 3rd, 2022
♾️
Created & Directed by JJZ
Poet Laureate @cityofreno
(5th – JAN/24 – DEC/25)
w/ @renobigartslittlecity
.
✨SPECIAL EVENT COLLABORATION ✨
w/
Spoken Views Collective
@spoken_views_reno
Founder: Iain Watson
@amethyst_noir
(Established 2006)
.
Hosts:
@2schae
@caleb.j.williams
@sidewayseightprojects ⭐️
.
Venue:
@shimstavern
125 W 3rd St., Reno, NV
The Biggest Little City in the World
.
.
.
.
.
PERSONAL WEBSITE:
Source:
Excerpts:
Fariha Róisín is a multidisciplinary artist, born in Ontario, Canada. She was raised in Sydney, Australia, and is based in Los Angeles, California. As a Muslim queer Bangladeshi, she is interested in the margins, liminality, otherness, and the mercurial nature of being. Her work has pioneered a refreshing and renewed conversation about wellness, contemporary Islam, degrowth and queer identities and has appeared in The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Vice, Village Voice, and others.
…..
Róisín has published a book of poetry entitled How To Cure A Ghost (Abrams), a journal called Being In Your Body (Abrams), and a novel named Like A Bird (Unnamed Press) which was named one of the Best Books of 2020 by NPR, Globe and Mail, Harper’s Bazaar, a must-read by Buzzfeed News and received a starred review by the Library Journal. Upon the book’s release, she was also profiled in The New York Times. Her first work of non-fiction Who Is Wellness For? An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who it Leaves Behind (HarperWave) was released in 2022, and her second book of poetry Survival Takes A Wild Imagination came out Fall of 2023.
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INFORMATIVE LINKS:
Fariha Róisín on the Healing Power of Poetry
https://www.vogue.com/article/fariha-roisin-interview-how-to-cure-a-ghost
Substack: Fariha Róisín
https://substack.com/@fariharoisin
Reading and conversation with Fariha Róisín
Fariha Róisín Article
https://gossamer.co/blogs/conversations/fariha-roisin
(Duration 36min.31min.)
The Sound Bath Podcast: Who Is Wellness For? with Fariha Róisín
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SHORTER VIDEOS
(Duration 2min. 10sec.)
Fariha Róisín turns personal trauma into narratives of cultural resistance
(Duration 9min.)
Artist Shirin Neshat in Conversation with Fariha Róisin at NeueHouse
(Duration 22min.28sec.)
The Necessity of Healing Through Poetry with Fariha Róisín
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Fariha Róisín Poetry in Acacia Magazine
1st Issue
https://www.acaciamag.com/articles/deep-ecology
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This study is not meant to serve as an exhaustive account of this amazing writer’s work. It is meant to serve as a sample platter which will encourage others to seek out more for themselves in their own time. Please visit the personal website above to further support Fariha Róisín’s body of work. You will be happy you did.