About this project
Greetings Global Citizens,
On January 20th, 2010, the one-year anniversary of Barack Obama's Inauguration, I will publish, "From Auction Block to Oval Office," 100 poems written during the first 100 days of Obama's presidency. As Barack Obama took on history as the nation’s first African-American president, I set out to write a poem a day for the first 100 days. These poems explore the hopes, fears, contradictions and complexity which came with the election of the United States' first African-American president.
To check out sample poems, visit www.kahlilalmustafa.mvmt.com/100poems. If you read these poems and think "YES, it is important to document this historical moment through poetry," supporting this project is the way to go. Help get "From Auction Block to Oval Office," to the White House and to the world.
What will I do with the money? Your contributions will help me raise a budget large enough to launch a successful marketing campaign. Over the past ten years I have published five collections of poetry and sold or distributed more than 10,000 books. I want "From Auction Block to Oval Office" to reach new heights and media coverage is crucial to the success of my publishing project.
The whole process will be an adventure. Donors will have behind-the-scenes access to the process, including: video, articles and performances. Donors who give $100 or more will also have their names printed in the Inaugural Edition commemorating the one-year anniversary. To celebrate these online supporters there will be online reading of the complete one hundred poem series on January 20th, 2010.
How this book helps me fulfill on my mission? Since I discovered poetry it has become the way I engage with the world. I wrote these poems to capture the many conflicting ideas and emotions I was experienced during the first 100 days. In addition to performing poems from this collection, I have been holding Living Room Readings, my alternative to the incendiary political discourse found in recent town-hall meetings, From Auction Block to Oval Office provides a nuanced yet provocative voice to our current national dialogue.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this, for your interest in poetry and in people. And as the poem from, Day 14: February 3rd 2009 goes:
with the value of
the dollar declining
maybe
the value of people
will be on the rise
FAQ
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 20, 2010.
Pledge $3 or more
For a $3 donation, receive behind-the scenes of the publishing process. Donors will also receive access to a reading streamed online of the complete 100 Poems series
Pledge $10 or more
For a $10 donation, receive a digital PDF file and behind-the scenes of the publishing process. Donors will also receive access to a reading streamed online of the complete 100 Poems series.
Pledge $25 or more
For a $25 donation, receive an autographed copy of the Limited Edition first printing and behind-the scenes of the publishing process. Donors will also receive access to a reading streamed online of the complete 100 Poems series.
Pledge $100 or more
For a $100 donation, receive an autographed copy and your name printed in the Inaugural Edition, and behind-the scenes of the publishing process. Donors will also receive access to a reading streamed online of the complete 100 Poems series.
Pledge $1,000 or more
Backers of $1,000 or more will receive all of the above, a Private Reading in their homes and an autographed poster of the book cover.
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kahlil almustafa is known as the People’s Poet, whether for a mass rally of hundreds of people, a nightclub, church, university or a backyard family reunion. almustafa is the 2002 Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion and the author of four book of poetry and his debut CD CounterIntelligence. His collection of 15 years of poetry, Growing Up Hip-Hop, is used in classrooms from the elementary to the university level.
In 2008, he was selected by the Hip-Hop Theater Festival as a grantee of the Future Aesthetics Artist Re-grant (FAAR), funded by the Ford Foundation. He is also a recipient of The Field's Economic Revitalization for Performing Artists (ERPA) grant which receives funding from The Rockefeller Foundation's Cultural Innovation Fund. almustafa is graduate school candidate in the MFA Interdisciplinary Arts program.
almustafa recently completed the “100 Poems For 100 Days” project where he wrote 100 poems in the first 100 days of Barack Obama’s presidency soon to be published in a collection of poems entitled, From Auction Block to Oval Office. In addition to writing poetry, almustafa also conducted Living Room Readings where he went into people’s homes and had participants to write “Barack Obama Inauguration Speech Remix Poems.” He uses poetry to engage with communities in critical dialogue.
