Mahogany L. Browne
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Mahogany L. Browne

Band Spoken Word Hip Hop

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"Embassy Helps Support U.S. Poets in Poland"

Lovers of performance art and poetry heard two of the best American spoken word poets live for the first time in Poland on October 3. The U.S. Embassy helped sponsor their appearance.

Wordsmiths Mahogany Browne and Jive Poetic appeared on stage at the Traffic Club in Warsaw. Mahogany and Jive each have their own unique delivery, drawing equally from the Beat poetry reading tradition, street performance, Slam poetry and avant-garde hip-hop.

Aside from the verse, the audience had the opportunity to see a performance by the fighter-dancers from the Beribazu Capoeira group, whose martial arts are truly another kind of powerful, physical poetry.

The audience -- mostly students -- was enthusiastic about the performance. "I was very impressed. The artists were so positive," says Ann, an American who was in Warsaw for only two days.

On October 4 in the Stara Prochoffnia, Poland's fourth Poetry Slam took place. Poetry Slams are spoken word poetry competitions, judged by the audience, and open to absolutely anybody who comes armed with his or her own work. After the Slam, Mahogany Browne and Jive Poetic performed once again, so the audience could compare Polish and American performance poetry.

"I have never seen such a performance before in my life. I am happy I had the opportunity to see and listen to artists straight from New York. Their poetry was even better than hip-hop!" said Magda, a Warsaw University student.

You'll be able to experience American Slam poetry in Poland yourself. American poets will perform in Warsaw in June/July 2004 during New New Yorkers Festival organized by the U.S. Embassy.

- United States Diplomatic Mission to Warsaw Poland www.poland.usembassy.gov


"Hammer and Tongue"

Two of the finest poets that New York City has to offer will be the special guests at the ever growing Hammer And Tongue’s Black History Month Special on October the 4th at The Zodiac.


Mahogany Browne is an internationally recognised spoken word recording artist who has gained a reputation as a talented aural performer and a prophet of the heart in Oxford and beyond. As part of “The Punany Poets” she has brought sexual health issues to the attention of the hip hop generation.

"the best live poetry can be found at the Hammer And Tongue slam"
The Sunday Times
Jive Poetic will take the stage in Oxford again after his victory in a Hammer And Tongue US v UK slam last October where he saw off competition from three of the UK’s best poetic performers as well as two US performers. Jive as the name suggests will add some smoothly elocuted musical delivery to the event.

The event is the second of the open slam season and welcomes anyone who wishes to take the stage for their three minutes of Oxford fame. Any form of spoken word is appreciated; black history themes are welcome but not essential. Five randomly chosen judges will score the performers and crown a winner to go into the final in May. Previous winners of the annual slam have gone on to perform at major international festivals.

Mahogany Browne said of the event “Hammer And Tongue is one of the most exciting gigs the world has to offer, I can’t wait to perform there again.”
- WWW.BBC.CO.UK


"A War of Words"

î.a mock competition between poets scored by judges selected from the crowds that pack the place every Sunday nightì The evening's main event is î.grab bag variety show, which mixes together an open stage, special guests, musical and dramatic acts, and lots of audience interactionì an infamous hangout of Al Capone in 1986. On his website, Slampapi.com, Smith describes his brainchild as a ñ at Chicago's Green Mill îUptown Poetry Slamì has changed drastically since Marc Smith, a construction worker by day and poet by night, founded the original îSlam Nationì The face of the so-called

.As slam poetry continues to move into mainstream culture, exponentially increasing in popularity each year, the young, hip, irreverent poets who perpetuate the scene have a whole lot more to compete for than cash prizes and bragging rights. In recent years, endorsement deals, chances to perform on national television, and fat performance fees are among the riches that a National Poetry Slam champion can expect. This is a far cry from the $10 weekly prize that is awarded to the winners of the Wednesday night slams at the Cantab, where the focus is on pushing the slam poetry, not the slam product

.says Michael Brown, the outspoken emcee and co-founder of the Boston Slam. Brown, a man whose appearance and mannerisms would make any Jerry Garcia conspiracy theorist do a double take, was among the original slammers at the Green Mill. Along with Patricia Smith, former Boston Globe columnist and four-time NPS Individual Champion, he brought the Slam to Boston in 1991 î,At the Cantab, I think we specialize in finding mid or low-level poets and helping them raise their artì

.Teaching at high schools and universities since 1962 (he is currently the Director of the Communication Program at Mount Ida College), Brown coached the early 90's powerhouse that was the Boston National Slam Team, winning back-to-back team championships in 1992 and 1993. Whether it be poets on the national stage, or newcomers to the Boston scene, Brown brings his lessons to the Cantab each Wednesday night with the desire to accomplish one thing: making the poetry better; a trend which, in Brown's opinion, has been on the decline ever since slam poetry started being packaged for mainstream consumption

.Slam's shift toward the mainstream began in 1996 with Paul Devlin's critically acclaimed documentary Slam Nation, a profile of the 1996 NPS held in Portland, Oregon. The momentum continued in 1998 with Marc Levin's feature film Slam, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival

.In Slam, a young poet/drug dealer uses poetry to accomplish amazing things like stopping a gang fight in prison, bringing a smile to the face of a buddy who just lost an eye in a gunfight, and of course, getting laid. These two films share a common star in Saul Williams, a member of the 1996 Nuyorican Poets' Caf team from New York City that placed third at the NPS in Austin

.Williams' roles in the two most significant slam-related films to date made him the poster boy for slam's move out of barrooms and into living rooms. Brown, however, sees Williams as an example of the larger problem of performance being valued over poetry in the slam community today

.Brown surmises that Williams simply used the slam scene as a stepping-stone to launch his acting career î.nobody will even mention that performanceì ,remarks Brown î,It was awfulì .says Brown. He cites Williams' 2002 performance on the Chris Rock Show as an example of his poetic ineptitude î,Saul Williams is an actor, but he's no poetì

.says a tall man in a black t-shirt, his Afro pulled back with a black bandanna. He is Jive Poetic, tonight's feature poet at the Cantab î,I don't know, I thought Saul was pretty goodì

.he answers confidently î,I write firstì .A native of Buffalo, NY, Jive is a current member of the Nuyorican National Slam Team that placed second at the 2003 NPS. He placed in the top 10 in the individual competition. His response to Mike's derogatory comments about Saul Williams prompt me to ask whether he considers himself to be a better writer, or performer. A quizzical, almost offended expression appears on his face

î.It gives artists a chance to express themselves without trying to be something elseì .he says î,I think it's a good thingì .A full time poet, Jive has a much different opinion than Brown about the recent mainstream success of slam poetry

.He uses his friend and fellow NYC poet, Mahogany Browne, as an example of an artist who has found that angle î.You have to figure out an angle to stay true to yourself and still promote the productì :As far as the increased corporate interest in marketing products through poetry is concerned, Jive says that it's a tricky situation

.She does not drink Hennessy herself. By writing poems that have nothing to do with the actual product, she is able to stay true to her own beliefs while still doing her job î.Hennessy - The Boston Underground


"Liberal Arts Colleges Across the Country Reach Out to Help in Wake of Hurricane Katrina"

YONKERS, N.Y. - Some of the hottest artists on the national poetry scene performed at Sarah Lawrence College on Sept. 8 to help raise funds for hurricane victims. Performers included The Last Poets, Mahogany Browne, Jive Poetics, Elizabeth Acevedo, Michael Cirelli, Fish, Celena Glenn, K Swift, Kasim Allah, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo, Lemon and many others. Proceeds were given to the NAACP Disaster Relief Fund. First year students Dylan Morgan and Aja Buscamper organized the event. - www.CollegeNews.Org


"Where I Live"

Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry, which originated in the US. Originally established as a means to heighten public interest in poetry readings, it's now evolved into an international art form.

A kind of open-mike competition, poets are given a three-minute slot to either read or perform their poem, although improvisation is not allowed. The judges then score what they have seen and heard.

Slammers at the slam
Headlining this poetry slam will be New York hip hop poet Mahogany Browne, the Oxford slam master Jim Thomas, and Poetry Life Editor-in-Chief Adrian Bishop.


Jim Thomas is one of the headliners
John Paul O'Neill, one of the UK's leading new poetry performers and MCs, will be hosting the night.

His poetry, short stories and articles have been published extensively and he's been MC at numerous events around the UK including shows at Glastonbury, and the studio space at the Hackney Empire.

Dem's da rules
The competition is open to any poet, reading or performing, in any subject or style. This year, slams have been won by poets from 16 to 72 years old, and if that's not incentive enough, every poet who enters will win a prize.

The winner of the event will be the Slam Champion of the West of England and will qualify for the UK Poetry Championship Finals to be held in London in December.

The West of England Slam Championships have been organised by Farrago Poetry who first brought poetry slams to the UK 10 years ago.

They're being held as part of the Wells Festival of Literature, which you can get more info about by clicking on the link at the top of this page.


- www.BBC.CO.UK


Discography

Albums Released:

Papercuts: An Acapella Series (EP)
LadySmyth (Full Length CD)
Black Secret Soul (Airplay on BBC Radio & in Sweden TV)
Sheroshima (Full Length CD)

Singles:
Single Muva Song (Sweden TV & "Single Mother" Documentary)
Daddy Neva Knew (Airplay - Music Choice)

Photos

Bio

Mahogany L. Browne, born in Oakland, California, has been performing on the intensely creative performance poetry scene in 1998. As a member of the highly regarded safe sex crew, The Punany Poets (as seen on HBO's Real Sex 24 & 26) Mahogany aspires to alert the Hip-Hop generation with safer sex methods. Fueled by her position as a freelance journalist in the Hip Hop industry, Mahogany created the Hip-Hop Poetry educational program and accepted the position as New Professional Theatre's Educational Director. This position allowed Browne to implement a healthy relationship between the music and our children by facilitating workshops throughout New York Public School System, group homes throughout the US, Europe and the UK. Mahogany conducts women-interest writing groups and leads Power of Creative Arts symposiums for government and non-profit Social Work offices in Texas, NY and England. Mahogany can also be heard on radio airwaves throughout the country as the femme fatale poetic voice on Hennessy's national radio advertisement, Poetry Minute and Music Choice's premier cable channel.

She served as Editor and Publisher of His Rib: Stories, Poems & Essays by HER (penmanship books), and authored two books Unlikely & Other Sorts (penmanship books) and Thin Skin (Cherry Moon Publishing). Mahogany has released four LPs including the international hit Black Secret Soul and the newest live album Sheroshima. As co-founder of the Off-Broadway poetry production, Jam On It Poetry (and co-producer of NYC’s 1st Performance Poetry Festival: SOUNDBiTES) Mahogany bridges the gap between poets and emcees, through her continued freelance journalism, found in the pages of internationally distributed magazines KING, XXL, The Source, Canada's The Word and UK's MOBO. In 2006, Browne purchased the largest on-line marketing and distribution company for poets, PoetCD.Com, an on-line and she is the host and curator at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Plays
The Punany Poets, US (1999 - 2003)
Rough Draft of My Life NY (2002)
Second Sin, US (2003, 2004)
Vagina Monologues, MA (2004)

Theatre & College Performances
Albany Theatre, UK
Old Dominion University, VA
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Long Island University
Columbia University, NY
Oxford Brookes University, UK
Fashion Institute, NY
Hofstra University, LI
Princeton University NJ,
Kammerspiele Theatre, Germany
Southern Connecticut University
New World Stages, NYC
Mary Washington College, VA
St. John's University, NY
Sarah Lawrence College
Medgar Evers College NY,
Traffic, Poland
New York University NY
University of Buffalo, NY
Niagara University NY
Suny, Oneonta,

Festivals
National Poetry Slam 2003 –Present
SOUNDBiTES Poetry Festival, 2007
Tip of the Tongue Festival, UK 2007
Bristol Poetry Festival 2003, 2007
Birmingham Book Festival, 2007
Penzance Arts Festival, 2007
Austin International Poetry Festival 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Black Expo NY, 2002
Manchester Poetry Festival 2003, 2005
Wordstock International Festival 2002
Word Up! Festival, VA 2004

Testimonials
My father told me, "you always have to juggle in life." Mahogany Browne embodies that maxim with passion, heart, and sass. A poet, performer, editor, journalist, events producer, social entrepreneur and educator, Mo keeps many beautiful ornate spheres in the air--and this juggling affects positive change in our community and beyond.
-- Michael Cirelli, Exec. Director, Urban Word NYC

She gets people there and shows them a brave new world that they never want to leave.
--Kenji Jasper, Author (Dark, Seeking Salmanca Mitchell)