Introducing 2010 Poets-in-Residence
New Round of Poets at PresentMagazine.com
PresentMagazine.com kicked off a poets-in-residence series in 2009 with an inaugural group of fine poets. Next year, we are excited to publish the work of a diverse group of local poets and spoken word artists. The series is also serves as a platform to highlight poetry as a literary form represented by an active community in greater Kansas City.
We are evolving its purpose and practice by involving a wider array of people from well-established poets to an emcee who delivers his message through spoken word with prowess and finesse. Poetry is language meant to be expressed not only only visually as words to read, but also orally so that the words and rhythm can be heard, felt, and better understood. The human voice adds emotional impact and brings language to life. Similarly, spoken word is a tradition that includes griot storytelling, poetry jams, performance artists, and hip hop emcees that serves as its own yet related art form. We encourage you to seek out poetry readings and jams to hear what all the fuss is about.
For now, meet Gustavo Adolfo Aybar, Donna Trussell, Shawn Pavey, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Reach, and Natasha Ria El-Scari - the next round of poets-in-residence at PresentMagazine.com from January-June 2010. Look for their first round of poems in early January.
Pete Dulin and Pam Taylor
Editors, Publishers - PresentMagazine.com
Gustavo Adolfo Aybar
Gustavo Adolfo Aybar is studying Romance Languages & Literature at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; set to graduate in May of 2010, and pursue his Ph.D. in Caribbean Studies with an emphasis in creative writing. As a scholar he’s presented at the University of Florida, and has upcoming presentations at FIU, and the PCA/ACA National Conference. As a member of The Latino Writer's Collective, his work can be found in their anthology, Primera Pagina: Poetry from the Latino Heartland (Scapegoat Press, 2008). He also has upcoming publications with Black Magnolias Literary Journal, NINE: A Journal of Baseball History & Culture, and Oranges & Sardines.
Natasha Ria El-Scari
“…I’m so honest, sometimes I hurt myself, heal myself, reveal myself and the same for someone else…”
Natasha Ria El-Scari paints lyrical strokes upon the mental canvases of all who recognize verbal art. She is a divorced mother of two, and surrogate mother to many. Her womb has become a refuge for those seeking poetic honesty. As a spoken word artist and writer, she has penetrated audiences of Kansas City’s historic 18th and Vine District's Blue Room and Red Vine. Other notable Missouri venues include: Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center, Gem Theater, Danny’s Big Easy and Kauffman Scholars of Kansas City, and The Writer’s Place.
In addition, her talents have touched universities and west coast venues which include: Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Nebraska-Omaha, University of Missouri-Kansas City, University of Missouri-Columbia, and R. Spot in San Diego, CA.
Natasha has opened for famed poet Saul Williams at The Granada in Lawrence, KS., and soul singer Bilal when he made his debut in Kansas City in 2001. She has performed at numerous coffeehouses, clubs, and celebrations. In addition to being a member of the Black Poets Collective of Kansas City, Missouri for over 7 years, she has produced several youth workshops in conjunction with the Kansas City American Jazz Museum. She has introduced literary greats like Haki R. Madhabuti, and in 2002 received a standing ovation for introducing political icon and activist Dr. Angela Davis through an original poem entitled, “They told me to introduce you in a minute.”
Throughout her professional career, Natasha has presented original workshops to young women on professionalism, striking a work/life balance, mentorship, and professional sisterhood. She also presents to both parents and students on how to communicate during the teen years. A graduate of Jackson State University in Jackson, MS with a BA in English and secondary education, Natasha earned her MA in Liberal Studi es at the University of Missouri-Kansas City with an emphasis in Women and Gender Studies, Creative Writing and Black Studies. When her children elementary aged graduate from high school she plans to pursue her Ph.D. in African American studies with an emphasis on Women’s Literature.
In her wicked and raw, soft and gritty style, she published a prose piece entitled, “Pap Smear” in the literary magazine Black Magnolias, and is included in a national anthology entitled, I Woke Up and Put My Crown On: The Project of 76 Voices (Publish America, 2005) Family Pictures (Capital Book Fest), and Check the Rhyme: An Anthology of Female Emcees and Poets (Lit Noire). Her spoken word CD, “DragonButterFirefly” was independently released March 15, 2006. Her book of poetry, So Soulful, and novel, Growing Up Sina are on her to due list to be published.
Poetry Workshop Facilitator, Editor of local self-published artists; her love of the youth is evident in her current position as Project Director of the UMKC Upward Bound at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she has been working for 9 years. Natasha Ria El-Scari is the quintessential, truth-teller, sooth-sayer and literary way-maker in a time when undiluted artistic mastery is extremely hard to find. El-Scari's statement holds true...“Most people lie to themselves… I reveal myself.”
To contact Natasha Ria El-Scari, please call 816-830-9093 or el-scarin@umkc.edu
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