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Amir Sulaiman in Australia – 17 December

A message from our friends at the Naxariis Foundation Inc

presenting…

Amir Sulaiman’s ‘The Meccan Openings’ Melbourne Tour

Come along and witness DEF Jam Poet Amir Sulaiman’s first ever Australian tour as he takes Melbourne through his poetic pilgrimage.

Amir Sulaiman is an accomplished poet, activist, recording artist and a 2 time HBO Def Poet. Host and performer for national Breed Love Odyssey Tour with Mos Def and Talib Kweli and special guest on KRS-ONES Hip Hop Lives Tour there is a steady but ever increasing buzz building around Amir quickly gaining the attention of everyone from Kanye West and Russell Simmons (who referred to Amir as “blessed”), to Dave Chapelle. In addition, organizations such as the ACLU, Amnesty International and Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have used Amir’s poetry and voice to bring life to multiple campaigns dealing with social justice and art. Consistently working across the United States and Canada, Amir has shared the stage with artists such as Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, Common , Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoah Monch, Floetry, Black Thought of The Roots, Goapele, Stevie Wonder, The Last Poets, Dead Prez, Ghostface of Wu-Tang Clan, MOP, and more.

Hosted by Luka Lesson and featuring a line up of amazing Melbourne based, talented poets:

Alia Gabres
Nour Abouzeid
Sara Mussa
Xaamud Aden
Zoe Hendrix Newport
Abshir Ahmed
Salim Mohamed

Poetry and art are historically significant part of East African and Somali culture and to highlight the strength and perseverance of the East African people we aim to positively inspire the youth and showcase their talent while raising funds for the drought stricken victims in East Africa. This night will also feature elements of East African culture such as dance, story telling, and so much more.

Proudly brought to you by the ‘Strength Not Silence’ campaign

Saturday 17 December
Carrillo Gantner Theatre
Sydney Myer Asia Centre
761 Swantson St (cnr Monash Rd)
Parkville

For info on tickets, or reservations email bookings.naxariis@gmail.com, or call Ahmed Shide on 0401 876 778 or  Halima Fiqi on 0401 124 670

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Poetry In Film Festival 2011

A message from our friends at the Poetry In Film Festival:

The wait is over – eight independent filmmakers have been chosen as finalists in the Poetry in Film Festival 2011. The emerging filmmakers are now in the running to win awards in five categories at PIFF’s Screening and Awards Night at Melbourne’s Palace Como on October 9th.

Selecting the eight finalists was a tough call for PIFF Judges documentary filmmaker John Hughes, director, cinematographer and screenwriter David Muir, and upcoming film director Jessica Lawton. According to the judges, each film represented an entirely unique interpretation of the poem, “Four Letters, Three Words” by Belinda Hilton.

The eight films and filmmakers selected as finalists are:

Aimee – Directed by Dana Newell (Sydney)
Jordan’s Choice – Directed by Jackson Raine
King Neptune – Directed by David Vincent Smith (Western Australia)
Love is a many childish thing – Directed by Mikael Hattingh
Shadow Dreams – Directed by Scott Lewis
The Family Mills – Directed by Paul Dowie
The Prank – Directed by Mark Bluett & Sean McCart
Would you hold me – Directed by Sarah Elizabeth Harney

Working in collaboration with Palace Cinemas, the Poetry in Film Festival (PIFF) aims to raise awareness and appreciation of poetry in popular culture while uncovering the talents of up-and-coming Australian independent filmmakers. Filmmakers were asked to interpret the poem “Four Letters, Three Words” into a seven minute short film.

PIFF Screening and Awards Night Sunday 9th October, 4:30PM Palace Cinema Como, 299 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne Tickets are on sale now

https://www.palacecinemas.com.au/sessiontimes/session/155/67752/

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We’re only getting started

Poets and works in progress go hand in hand like vegemite and toast. So please, visit the Overload website over and over and over again because the black box you see on your right is not the complete program!

There are still more events to be added, some events still quite haven’t been confirmed, some poets are penning their rhyming bios, and others are so awesome we have to keep them a secret for a little bit longer.

So stay tuned, and don’t mind our occasional mess whie we give this site the final touches. If you notice anything dodgy about this website, please contact us.

A huge thank you to our amazing web designer and developer, Mik Efford!

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Electric Text Submissions Open

East Shard

It’s back! For the third year in a row, the 2011 Overload Poetry Festival (9-17 September) will be displaying poetry on the scrolling text tickers of Federation Square’s East Shard.

We are seeking submissions of short poetry for public display on the west-facing wall in Federation Square (corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets). Overload will feed poems up to these digital scrolling text screens over the 10 days of the festival. This is one of the busiest intersections in Melbourne, a great opportunity to take your poetry to the people.

Send us haiku, one-line poems, short poems (up to 5 lines), short prose poems (up to 50 words) to electrictext@overloadpoetry.org by 20 August 2011.

Payment: the joy of being read by thousands of people.

In submitting, please be mindful of the public nature of this medium. Push the boundaries tastefully… and please circulate this message among your networks. Look forward to reading your gems!

In partnership with Federation Square