Jasmine Mans

“Some art is just too blunt to hang on your walls” is how 18-year-old writer Jasmine Nicole Mans describes exactly who she is.

“I believe that everyone is born with their own talent, and it is up to them to make the changes they see fit in the world with that talent, that tool, mine happens to be poetry.”

Born May 17th, 1991 in Newark, NJ to two hard working African American parents Jasmine understood a reality of dedication, hard work, family, and loyalty to not only who she is, but also where she is from.

Being a resident of Newark, NJ in 2005 would become a troubling time for youth within the inner city. Newark would see an uncontrollable amount of gang activity and plain acts of violence ending the lives of children through out her community. Some of the youth Jasmine would know personally, many just looked familiar enough to evoke emotion.

During this time, Jasmine says she knew what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Right then, writer Jasmine Nicole Mans made the decision to live life to the fullest with no regrets. She began to understand that life will be as promising and beautiful as you want it to be.

She actively and creatively showcased this decision with her self-written One-Woman Stage Play “Loops” produced under the direction and development of Dance Theatre Workshop, Queen Godis, and Nicco Annan. “Loops” is a segment of the UrbanWordNYC DTW “Journal to Journey” residency where Jasmine fearlessly documented the life of a young man in her community using God as a catalyst for the gut wrenching story.

Growing up under the artistry and guidance of Halim Suliman, Amiri Baraka, and William Manns Jasmine knew that she wanted to change the world with her words. While making the to conscious effort to artistically document the ills of her community Jasmine would get people to listen.

After being accepted to Arts High school Jasmine soon noticed that activism did not end with poetry, but could exude onto the stage. In high school Jasmine learned the technique of spoken word and acting. Later developing her skills as a slam poet she won the Knicks Poetry Slam and many other poetry-based competitions. This skill afforded her the ability to compete 2 years of a row at the Brave New Voices poetry festival where she took second place under the direction of UrbanWordNYC, a performance slot at Sundance Film Festival, and a total of 7 newspaper write ups. She also worked as a youth mentor for not only UrbanWordNYC, but also Delta Academy, and a countless amount of organizations and groups throughout the tri-state area.

Jasmine would soon bump into the likes of Stan Lathan, Kamillah Forbs, Wyclef Jean, and Mos Def while performing her spoken word poetry. In 2008 on the Kennedy Center stage Jasmine would become apart of Robert Redford’s Green Team raising awareness about global warming through performance poetry. As her passion for art grew stronger Jasmine would appear on “Def Poetry” and HBO presents “Brave New Voices” where she documented her slam poetry experience and then would later win herself a $20,000 scholarship from The Star Ledger-NJPAC to pursue her art while grounding herself with her academics.

As Jasmine got ready to choose a college to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison stole her heart as its FirstWave program offered a balance of Art and Academics wrapped in a 4 year scholarship. With the help of Rafael Casal, Michael Cirelli, and a host of dedicated people Jasmine attends of University now as a freshmen double majoring in Sociology and Political Science.

If you asked Jasmine what she wanted to do with the rest of her life she would tell you that she wants to become a Criminal Justice Lawyer and fight for human rights all over the world. With her education and passion for poetry she hopes to be the voice that evokes and inspires change to afford people a better tomorrow no matter race, sex, or ethnicity.

Currently as a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Jasmine is involved in many community service activities as well as creating her own artistic projects from a poetry album to her 2nd stage play. Jasmine also participated in The Knick Poetry Slam on Broadway as well as in Boston at the CUPSI College Poetry National Festival where her university took first place.

With community service activities such as building homes for people effected by Hurricane Katrina, tutoring young girls, marching for political change, and volunteering under Newark’s Councilmen and Mayor Corey A. Booker Jasmine already knows the benefit of hard-work and dedication.

“I am very serious will a say I am going to change the world.”-Jasmine Mans