Tag Archives: luka lesson

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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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Overload day 9

So we skipped the day 8 preview, but hey, it was a big day. One of the most amazing in the history of the Melbourne Poetry Scene. A packed Footscray Arts Centre saw the absolute brilliantness of the Centre for Poetics and Justice Crew and three of the best poets in the world: Jive Poetic, Ken Arkind and Shane Koyzcan. The Global Poetics Tour is almost drawing to a close, so if you missed this, you may have a few opportunities to see a glimpse of what happened at Footscray on Friday check out globalpoetics.com and cpj.org.au.

Two other beautiful gigs were on simultaneously at Collected Works and North Melbourne Library, of which you can see some photots here, thanks to Overload’s good friend Michael Reynolds. (Heaps more photos from the festival coming to this site soon).

On to today! at 2 pm for the third year in a row we hear poets in response to artworks at the National Gallery of Victoria. This year’s commissions will be in response to the Aboriginal Art Collection at the Ian Potter Centre, by Jordie Albiston, Tony Birch and Luka Lesson. While you’re there, you might want to check our Electric Text on the East Shard.

If you’re after a more swashbucklin’ afternoon, head to the Dan O’Connell Hotel where it’s Talk Like a Pirate Day (?) and Allan Boyd, Meg Dunn and Thom Roker bring out the rum, swords and make you walk the open mic plank.

At the Workers Club from 5.30-7.30 the No Competition poets get on stage to show you how it’s done. Slam winners and consumate performers come together for this fantastic showcase: Armand Petit, Andrea Thomas, Ashley Higgs, Santo Cazzati, Bronwyn Lovell and Felix Nobis.