#WAROFWORDS2 IT'S IN YOU BY CHIEMEZIE IBE

Rhymes and reason,
two things that came to mind as per this piece.
Simple and straight to the point,
two things that I like about this piece.
Is he good? and can he win?
two questions that will be answered soon enough.

IT'S IN YOU BY CHIEMEZIE IBE 

Tales of woe,you tell about your country

A land so blessed flowing with milk and honey.

Like the sands of the desert, resources abound

But in  lack and hunger, your people are found.

Working on a stomach that is empty,

and suffering in the midst of plenty.

In search for  solution, I call you by name

and quicker than lightening you are to complain,

of how things  are no longer the same.

You say the corrupt system drives you insane,

but a key player you are in the game.

What a shame!!

From your eye first, remove the log before you look

for the speck in your brother's, says the holy book.

The Change you seek cannot always be given to you.

Look within, for that which you seek is in you.

Why don't you bring change by the things you do?

Check out the video via the link below

IT'S IN YOU BY CHIEMEZIE IBE #WAROFWORDS2

http://youtu.be/d9ly0rsQbmI

Our calendar for Spoken Word Poetry Events in the year 2014 in Nigeria.

Hello,

Trust you are having a great day. 

Thank you for your interest in our activities.

We have 3 major events that we organize, and they are as follows:

1.    WORD UP (Spoken Word Poetry and Soul Music Event).

Word Up is arguably the biggest Spoken Word Poetry Event in Nigeria, and from August 2012 to August 2013, five editions of Word up were held providing the much needed visibility for Brands we partnered with. We even brought in an internationally renowned Spoken Word Poet (Shihan Van Clief) for our event, Word Up Volume 4 in May 2013, and we celebrated our one year anniversary in August 2013 during Word Up Volume 5.

Our next event, Word Up Volume 6 is scheduled for November 23, 2013 and it will be centered around the United Nation’s “International day for the elimination of violence against women,” with the theme, "Stop the violence."

For the coming year 2014, we will be partnering with  international poets from across the world. 

2.     War Of Words (Slam Poetry Competition)

This is a performance poetry competition that allows poets from all over Nigeria compete against each other.

What makes this exciting is that the Brand that partners with our team will receive leverage as the entries will be centered around the brand’s values and other such matters they might want promoted online.

The competition will be both online and on stage involving video presentations, article writing and Performance Poetry. It promises exciting content and results for brands that partner with us.

There will be cash prizes for the top 3 poets and partners can offer additional gifts of value to the winning poets.

3.     Word Up Talk Series 3 ( a Seminar/Workshop on the Business of Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria)

We will be offering workshops, training and tips to empower poets and aspiring poets on how to write and perform good poems as well as turn it into profit.

Please find below our event calendar for 2014.

Date	Venue	Activities of the event	Major Highlights	Status/ Level of Completion	Benefits to the sponsors
February 15, 2014	Lagos	WORD UP a Spoken Word Poetry Event interlaced with soul music. This event will feature only A-list poets and the spoken word poems will center around love and how together we can make it work for the greater good of Nigeria.	It will be a Love themed event.	10%	Branding Opportunity across all touch points. Advert placements in our DVDS sold   across the country, and around the world. Brand exposure on social media sites and affiliated websites e.g. Google plus, Youtube, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Pin Interest, Naij.com, Linda Ikeji Blog, BellaNaija etc. Media exposure. Product/ Services Experience and Sampling Speaking Opportunity Database Acquisition and so much more.
May 2014	Lagos	Seminar on the Business of Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria	We will have established Spoken Word Poets, Event Managers, Business Mangers  and Brand Experts come train and talk to new and aspiring Spoken Word Poets.	0%
June 2014	V.I, Lagos	War Of Words (slam poetry competition) that is open to all category of people. There will be pre-selection activities to prune down the online entries  to 15 poets before the event date.	The event will have a theme to match Sponsor’s brand name/ brand phrase. The top 3 poets get cash prizes and will perform at the next WORD UP event,	Online submission of entries for the competition will kick off in March 2014. 0%
August 2014	Lagos	WORD UP a Spoken Word Poetry Event interlaced with soul music. This event will feature only A-list poets and soul singers that have been pre-selected to perform.	2nd Anniversary Edition of our event and we will feature an internationally renowned Spoken Word Artist. Negotiation is on going	0%
November 2014	Lagos	WORD UP a Spoken Word Poetry Event interlaced with soul music. This event will feature only A-list poets and soul singers that have been pre-selected to perform. It will be centered around the United Nation’s “International day for the elimination of violence against women.”	It will be themed, "Weaker sex, but not a punching bag."	0%

 4.   TV and Radio Partnerships 

We are in talks with TV and Radio stations for an on air poetry show morning of every weekday and in the evenings during the weekend.

We will keep you updated with progress so you can latch on to this and receive the much needed visibility for your brand and products.

We are available for further clarifications.

For inquiries, please call +2348025070892, +2348038315055

Or mail Wordup4one1@gmail.com, olulu4ever@gmail.com, i2xmedia@gmail.com

#WarOfWords2 Word on a Mission by ThinkingPen

Some people don't limit themselves to just serving for serving sake.
They also "service words" so deep, 
you appreciate the depth the words make you leap.
Someone once said, "words are the tools that separates us from fools."
Hmm, need I say more? 

Word on a Mission 

by 

ThinkingPen

This poem is titled "WORD ON A MISSION"
So if you have a neighbour tap him and say
"Please no distraction"

Musical volumes always have control
And I tell you, a Russian made bomb
Was designed to blow

The body without the spirit 
Would just be a walking corpse
And there is a reason why
Sentences have full-stop

There is a reason
Pencils do have erasers
Now what I mean it
Learn to hate the sin
But love the sinner

If you don't know!
If you scratch the way it itches you
Your skin will be torn
And it's every problem that is solve
With a Gun 

The Mathematics of War
Gibson says has always been subtraction
Now my sermon is
"Never be a catalyst to a fatal reaction"

I realized that pointing accusing fingers
Never really does a thing
Because the reality is 
4 points back at you 
Accusing you of the same thing.

So now the question is WHO?
Who do we blame?
Who really ever goes to a grocery store
And buys shame.

But the truth is
Darkness is the core of the human heart
And getting light in there
Is like making a rat king 
In the kingdom of cats
It's suicidal

My mentor says
All the religion in the world agrees
That something is wrong with us
And like bedridden patients,
I say we all need a nurse

Because violence will be confined 
To the dictionary as a noun 
If we don't commit the crimes
And next time Hate calls
Tell love to go pick up the line

One never knows it all
And if you really wanna see change
Go look in the mirror on the wall

For the man you see in it
Carries it, like a pregnant mother
And the world is waiting for you 
To Deliver.

Check out the video via the link below

#WarOfWords2 Word on a Mission by Thinkingpen

http://youtu.be/DPUjmkUOXgg

#WarOfWords2- Prepared For War by Prestige d WordSmith

This is the first entry for War Of Words Season 2. 
The poet in question entered for the Season 1 but he did not make the last 15 finalist.
Now he is back, 
and back with vengeance.
He does not look like he will be taking prisoners, 
cos now, 
he said we should be prepared for war.

Title of Poem: Prepared for War

Poet: Prestige d WordSmith

How can a man born 2000 years ago prepare for war without swords and spears?
How can a man born in our time prepare for war without guns and grenades?
How can a house-wife prepare for war without mortar and pestle?
How can a baby in the womb prepare for war without kicking and boxing?
And then I ask again,
How can a man prepare for war of words without the tongue and the brain?
Cos the tongue without the brain produces words that are meaningless 
and the brain without the tongue produces words that are voiceless. 
War of Words!
Animosity, brutality in World War 2
But I'll bring philosophy, reality in War of words 2
And if you say that I am powerless, 
I will take that as jocular
Cos I know that I am spectacular
"Practise what you preach", 
this saying is popular—but how come most of our leaders defile the same rules they set out to guide us and unite us.
And if I keep on complaining, 
I will end up exclaiming 
so I decided to battle in this war to be the change that I seek.
Seek and you shall find me in this war. 
Praaaaaaah!

Check out the video via the link below

#WarOfWords2- Prepared For War by Prestige d WordSmith

http://youtu.be/lHjs4cZa6Rw

I WON MYSELF.

by 

Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom

Dust kissed the sole of my feet 

as I trod upon the ground valiantly 

A herculean task was set before me 

I peered into my heart 

and courage was visible 

I peeked at a mirror 

and I saw a fidgeting image 

Whose image was it? 

I battled in a bottle

Filled with mixture of fear and courage

I had to sieve

Or subdue one for the other

But every attempt to implement

the element of decisiveness

Left me sitting on a fence.

The battle called unto me

When I refused to confront

It drew nigh

Barking like a dog

Afflicted with insanity

I was humming

Yes I was

Tension at attention

But fear thrown in detention.

Courage assaulted fear within me

I pulled away from despair

I repaired the damaged faith

by damaging self-pity

Joy was ignited

when worries were switched off

My soul freed

My body freed

I had won the greatest battle

I won myself to be myself.

JUST BEFORE YOU GIVE UP.

by Chiemezie Ibe @Mex_Konceptz

The sky is wide enough for all birds to fly,

And so is the water for all fish to swim.

Never give up on your dream, don't be afraid to try.

Stay focused someday you'll live your dream.

The road to success is long, rough & narrow,

Patience is like a path you must choose to follow

One step at a time live today before tomorrow,

Fast lane in no time will end you up in the gallows

Life is like a game, to win you must play by the rule,

and being yourself always is your greatest tool.

Never let the world tell you who you are,

Remember no matter what that you are a star.

Why settle for less when you can be the best?

Till you get to the top may you never find rest.

Just before you  quit remember Abraham Lincoln,

Fight on,

What matters in the end is that you  won.

Pictures of the Seminar on the Business of Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria.

The seminar on the Business of Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria held on Saturday September 14, 2013 in Ikoyi, Lagos, and it was well attended. The event was a delightful success as all the speakers came with unique and highly customized presentations that gave the audience deep insights into the various spheres of the Business of Spoken Word Poetry in Nigeria. The audience enjoyed it all and left with new and powerful ideas on how to start and improve their Spoken Word Poetry career.

Here are some of the highlights of the event:

Olulu giving the opening address 

Emcees of the day, Don Fabrino and Delectable Duvy

Olakumoke Alawode-James, one of the speakers at the event

Increase, the 14 year Old Poet, opened the event with a wonderful performance

  

Donna, the Poet, spoke on 
The art of Spoken Word Poetry (from Page to Stage).

Olakumoke Alawode-James, speaking on Event management/ organizing of Poetry Events

Mr. Kelvin  Orifa of MTN Nigeria (on the left) giving us insights on How to brand Spoken Word Poetry events and Mr Shina Atilola of Sterling Bank (on the right) telling us why and how to Brand ourselves as Spoken Word Poets.

Plumbline (on the left) giving us some poetic punchlines.

RezthaPoet (on the left) showing how Spoken Word Poetry should be done.

Some of the people at the event

 Donna testing one of the participant of the seminar on what he has gained from her talk/lecture.

4 Reasons Why You Should Perform Your Poetry.

by Ami Mattison 

I shared my poetry with an audience for the first time at an old-fashioned “poetry reading.”

Me, performing in 2003. Photo courtesy of Sir Jesse of Decatur

It was 1991, and there were four of us. We took turns standing behind a music stand where our poems were laid out, and we proceeded to read in our best “serious poet” voices. You know the voice I’m talking about—the one where every line ends in an upward tone and sounds almost like a question?

Wow, have things changed since those days!

Now, in addition to the mainstay of the literary poetry reading, there are raucous open mics and poetry slams all over the country, where people don’t simply read, they “perform.”

They spit, they slam, they rap, they rant. In other words, they use their bodies and voices to give life to their words beyond the written page.

Now, almost twenty years after my first poetry reading, I earn a modest income from touring and performing my poetry to live audiences. No more serious poet voice for me.

Instead, I give expression to my poetry through dramatic and (what I hope are) well-crafted performances.

It’s All Poetry

There’s long been a rift between the “academic,” or literary poetry scene and the spoken word scene. Academic poets often dismiss the quality of spoken word poetry, while spoken word aficionados think academic poetry is boring. But, in the final instance, it’s all poetry.

Regardless of what a poem is about or how it’s written, it can be performed in a way that entertains, inspires, or moves audiences.

What I Mean by “Performance”

When I say “perform,” I don’t mean memorizing your poem and then screaming it at audiences, though there are certainly enough spoken word performers who do that. Rather, when I say “perform,” I mean finding creative ways to emote through language in order to engage one’s listener.

Performance is an emotional interpretation of your poem.

It is simply using your voice, your body, and your breath to convey not only your words but the layered emotions beneath them.

In other articles, I’ve suggested that memorizing your poetry offers an excellent way to experience it, either alone or in front of audiences. 

But you don’t need to memorize your poetry in order to offer a great performance. Reading your poetry can also provide an opportunity to convey it in your own personal and unique way.

And ultimately, the key to a great poetry performance is finding your own voice and your own style of sharing your poetry.

After all, it’s your poetry. And who better to perform it than you?

Why You Should Perform

Many poets who have published works read their poetry as a way to sell and promote their books, and that’s a great reason to perform or read. But you don’t need something to sell in order to perform your poetry. All you need are some poems you want to share and a venue to share them in.

Besides selling your books, there are several reasons to perform your poetry. Here a few of the reasons why I perform: