Celest Divine

Celest made her grand entrance in 81' as a coffee-mocha-chocolate old soul full of energy. Though she spent most of her life in Athens, GA, her roots extend to Cameroon, West Africa. She was birthed to be a writer and tapped into the art at the youthful age of 8. At the age of eleven she was featured in an anthology of poetry for her poem, Now I See.

Celest fell in love with spoken word when she was asked to recite a Black History event at her high school in 1997. She owned the words that danced in her throat and performed them with that exact passion. She wrote about everything; bluntly chronicling progression and regression of African people, love, pain, struggle, sacrifice, motivation, life, death, and became particularly fond of writing about women reclaiming their lost identities. Celest performed in living rooms of friends and on any stage whenever she could. A beautiful full figured woman and very comfortable in her own skin, she writes:

"I got these thick thighs that rub together/And well I think that's pretty cleva!
I got riches in my thickness baby "

In college, Celest became very involved with Groovespeak Poetry Venue as well as touring to Valdosta, GA (Poetic Magic poetry troupe), Tallahassee, FL (Back Talk Poetry Troupe), The Lounge & many more. To date, she has frequented many open mic venues, including Mocha Match (Decatur, GA, Apache Cafe's Free Forum Exchange (Atlanta, GA), Open Set, and several other venues. She claims the stage weekly at Poetic Soul (located at Bulldog Cafe 468 N. Ave.) in Athens, GA.

In February 2004, Celest self-published and released her first book of poetry, You Don't Know Me (Poetry of a Diva Under Construction), which independently sold 943 copies. Now with more growth and wisdom in self-publishing and life, Celest released her 2nd book, Butterfly Revolution: She Speaks Again, February 2007 along with her long awaited cd, Wisdom Pimpin,' which includes "TODAY (I'm Not a Poet)," "Perfect Imperfections," "No Response Necessary," and "Addicted." Her first novel is scheduled to be released in Fall 2011. Her long awaited sophomore Spoken Word cd, REAListically SPEAKing was released May 20, 2009 and continues selling at different venues and on her website (www.celestngeve.com).

The first poet she connected with was Maya Angelou and has since, gone on to find favor in several other imcomparable souls such as Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Sonia Sanchez, bell hooks, Alice Walker, Georgia Me, Jill Scott, Samantha Thornhill, Jessica Care Moore, Amiri Baraka to name a few. She also draws inspiration from Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, India.Arie, Common, and Floetry.

Celest believes that knowledge through education is the key to progression. She acquired a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Albany State University in 2004 and a Master of Education at American Intercontinental University. Currently she's a 2010 cadidate for a Master of Marriage and Family Therapy at Argosy University. She's employed as a special education teacher and a counselor; counseling children with severe emotional disorders. The clever poet is putting the finishing touches on her new book. She's one of those famous folks the world is about to get poetically acquainted with. This soul sista is talented, passionate, hard working, and very loyal to making positive change in the Black community and the universe through her involvement in Dreaded Mindz and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
For BOOKING info, please contact Celest via email or website at celestngeve@gmail.com, www.celestngeve.com, www.myspace.com/celestn.