Deschutes Public Library and the Cascades Theatrical Company have joined together to bring an evening of spectacular spoken word performances to Central Oregon on Friday, November 12 at the Greenwood Playhouse. The performance begins at 7:00 pm is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and will be on a first come first served basis.
On tour under the brand new moniker Revival, the Night Kite Revival is back! Anis Mojgani (2-time Individual National Poetry Slam Champion), Derrick Brown (invited to open for the Flaming Lips and Cold War Kids), Buddy Wakefield (2-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion) bring to you the planet’s ultimate spoken word theatre experience! Born to inspire, these poetic acrobats have been engaging international audiences for over a decade from San Quentin State Penitentiary and House of Blues all the way to HBO and the Tonight Show. Their individual successes are many but together they have struck an undeniable power chord with North American audiences for the past three years.
Buddy Wakefield, Anis Mojgani and Derrick Brown have spent the past few years collecting themselves with the top performance poets on the globe, banding together to create “a disarming verbal circus successfully reviving, redeeming and releasing its audiences from the heaviness of lives caught in holding patterns.” No other line-up is as ambitious or well rounded with such a seasoned cast of road poets incorporating gripping, uplifting music, engaging group work and a busload of questionable dance moves.
Brown, former paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne, gondolier, magician, and fired weatherman, now travels the world and performs his written work. From Long Beach, CA, he is dedicated to bringing American poetry into rock and roll status. He has toured or performed with Indie rock acts and comedians including Cold War Kids, The Decemberists, David Cross and Richard Swift. His work has been featured in books with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Jeff Buckley, Jack Hirschman, Amber Tamblyn and poet laureate Ted Kooser. He has performed at the largest outdoor festival in the world, Glastonbury, as an author. As one of the most original and well-traveled writer/performers in the country, Brown has gained a cult following for his poetry performances all over the U.S. and Europe. About.com called his latest collection,
Scandalabra, one of the best books of 2009. To date, Brown has performed at over 1500 venues and universities internationally including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, La Sorbonne in Paris, and CBGB’s in NYC.
New Orleans resident Mojgani, is one of only two people to win the National Poetry Slam Individual Championship more than once, taking the title in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Anis won France’s first ever World Cup Poetry Slam. He has performed on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, NPR, and alongside artists Jill Scott, Sage Francis, and M-1 of Dead Prez. Of Iranian and Black heritage, Anis is a former artist in residence for the Literary Arts’ WITS program. He is the author of the full length poetry collection
Over the Anvil We Stretch.
Wakefield is the two-time Individual World Poetry Slam Champion featured on NPR, the BBC, HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and most recently signed to Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. In 2004 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Finals thanks to the support of anthropologist and producer Norman Lear. He successfully defended that title at the International Poetry Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands against the national champions of seven European countries. In 2005 he won the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship again and has gone on to share the stage with nearly every notable performance poet in the world in hundreds of venues internationally from Scotland’s Oran Mor and The Great Lawn in Central Park to San Quentin State Penitentiary, House of Blues New Orleans and First Avenue.
People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating, or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz at 312-1032. For more information about The Poetry Revival, visit their web site
www.thepoetryrevival.com. For more information about this and other library programs, please visit the library web site at
www.deschuteslibrary.org or call 541/312-1032.