Amber Hasan's: "Loud Mouth Ghetto Girl One Woman Show" July 15th Footage

Footage from the July #Loudmouthghettogirl #onewomanshow

Loud Mouth Ghetto Girl: The one woman show

Footage from the debut of Loud Mouth Ghetto Girl: The one woman show

The next show will be

July 15, 2016
Greater Flint Arts Council
816 S. Saginaw St.
Flint, Mi.

Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door

call 810-458-3844 for more information

happy2Bnappy...New poem "Secret Life of Curls"

Last year a friend of mine who is a mompreneur as well as natural hair blogger and enthusiast, LaTashia Carter-Perry had an event called "Curls Night Out" where she brought together natural hair care vendors, natural hair care professionals and lovers of natural hair for a celebration of all of the elements that make our natural kinks and curls so magical and amazing! LaTashia asked me to do some poetry for this event and I was honored and delighted. I was so excited about this event that I was inspired to write a new poem. In the weeks leading up to this event I found out that I was preggo with baby number 6 and life went from zero to 100...real quick! Needless to say I didn't memorize the poem and actually lost the notebook that it was written in! I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason so I just did another appropriate poem, but i was still bummed about losing my new poem and my new notebook.  Last week I wrote a blog dealing with my daughter's natural hair journey and as fate would have it I found the notebook with the lost poem in it...AINT GOD GOOD!




You can follow LaTashia on FB at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Secret-Life-of-Curls//

and

http://mamagonethrifting.blogspot.com





So as a dedication to natural hair, black history month, and my homegirl who helped inspire this poem you have "The Secret Life of Curls"





We sew in our existence

18-20 inches

27 pieces of black girl puzzle

muzzled mane

pain in our beauty

untamed and unruly

you can't gel down the edges of the earth

can't change birth rites

there is beauty in this crown

brown mound of Mojo

the makers magic

creation lives in these curls

I woke up like this

Luscious

no you can't touch it

it's as if heaven erupted from my head

they hate it cuz they can't tame it, can't conquer it or claim it

no mater how you try and train it these roots still grow nappy

just like my mammy and my granny

I've got good genes

and as a girl my father told me my hair is good because it is growing out of my head

Just the way God intended

splendid spirals

an eyeful of ebony essence

an unintentional rebel

the revolutionary act of being a black girl

this hair has carried the fears and burdens of the world

while they marvel at it in private, this is the secret life of curls


Copyright 2014 Amber Hasan

Fighting for Eve's Innocence

My new book of poetry entitled "Fighting for Eve's Innocence" has been finished for over a year.  The book has been patiently waiting for me to be ready,  waiting for me to be still enough to give it the love and attention that it deserves...and I am almost there!  "Fighting for Eve's Innocence" is about being holistically woman to the best of my understanding.  The title represents the battle that women around the world fight daily.  It represents a battle that transcends race, class, educational level, income, religion, political affiliation and sexual orientation.  A battle to live outside of boxes built to imprison us, and color outside the lines drawn in order for us to paint "pretty pictures".  We as women have been the scapegoats of society, bearing the weight and responsibility of all the wrongs of the world while being denied the praise and benefits of what goes right.  This book is an acceptance of dualities, this is my manifesto for the mothers of mankind...they say the pen is mightier than the sword...so this book is me bearing arms!!!  Be on the lookout!!!

National Poetry Month Poetry Challenge 1 of 30...yeah i'm late, poets are always late!

National Poetry Month is on of my favorite times of year!!!  Mostly because it is in April and I love spring...but I love poetry as well.  It is always fun to see all of the "poetry challenge" posts on social media sites along with all of the awesome poetry events that go on during this month.  I love the poetry challenge but being a mother of five it is hard for me to make any commitment past taking a shower and brushing my teeth on a daily basis!  So I am going to humbly attempt to write 30 poems in 30 days, even though I am a spur of the moment, middle of the night, while i'm driving with no pen or paper in sight type of writers.  I am already 10 days late and playing catch up, so these 30 poems in 30 days may never come to fruition...and if not, oh well, it could be worse!!!

Epilogue of Clementine

Life Actually

Rhapsody wrapped in beautiful tragedy

Causality of my own calamities

Clementine

Coal miners daughter

Got to close to the water, mesmerized by my own reflection

I got carried away

Hopefully one day

School children will sing songs of my demise disguised by innocence

Death is so poetic when paired with the right melody

Sing the song of my transition in a key of transparency

Let them see me for what I really was

Am

Always will be

A girl who teeters near the fringes

Fear of falling is not a strong enough deterrent

The rumble of the current sounds like the ancestors speaking in drums

The whispers of the waves call me to wade in the brine

The divine is not sublime here

It is in your face

Up close and personal invading personal space

Bold and thrilling

Fulfilling private prophecies

Weaving me into the tapestry of God’s property

I am not lost and gone forever

And I never will be

I am music

I am memory

I am mystery

I am free

"A Taste of Flint" Poetry, Music and Food wrapped in one event! You don't wanna miss this 2/15/14

"A Taste of Flint" 
2/15/2014
Greater Flint Arts Council
6-9pm
Tickets $10 (includes food)
Come out and experience 3 of my favorite things wonderful poetry, music and FOOD! Featuring music from Green Chi, poetry by De'Marcus Johnson,She'a Cobb, Crystal Turner, Stanford Lewis and Amber Hasan! This show will feature "Sensational Sauces" created by Flint Town's own Chef Duane Wardand food will be provided by Eazey's Smoken' Bbq De...This event is sure to excite the senses!!! Tickets go on sale tomorrow!!!

Why I Cook Black Eyed Peas for the New Year and A NEW POEM!!!!!!!

For the past few days I have had the strongest craving for black eyed peas!  When I woke up this morning it dawned on me why (No I am NOT pregnant again).  I believe the reason for my craving is because it is New Years Eve, and for as long as I can remember my mother, grandmother, and aunts always make black eyed peas on New Years Eve.  I believe that the tradition is centered around having good fortunes in the coming year, but seeing as though I am not a subscriber to luck I cook black eyed peas on this day for another reason and that reason is tradition.  I no longer have my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother in my life to turn to for wisdom.  I spent so much of my life being influenced by the examples of those two wonderful women, learning from every visit and conversation.     So even though I can no longer share physical space with those special women, on this day I can stir up their memories in a pot of Black Eyed Peas!  Everyone have a safe and happy New Year!

Peas In the Pot

Black eyed peas for the New Year
Not because I believe in luck
but because its what my grandmother did
it is tradition
Black eyed peas are never as good as they are on New Years day
tasting like my Granny's hugs and kisses
memories simmering
pots full of family
feeding spirits
reaching back and passing forward
I bring them with me in bowls full of knowledge
pot liquor poets
those women-folk who fed me
gave me recipes for survival
something substantial to chew on
to grow from
to digest
in my soul and in my flesh I was nourished
gave it to me straight
their truth gave me courage
the way that they flourished in the worst situations gives me patience
motivation
their is no "give up" in my blood
only black eyed peas
cooked on New Years eve
and bellies full of love

SpitFire Poetry/Nacho Pizza/ East Lansing

Performing always gives me a rush!  I love being on stage just as much as I love writing. But between juggling 5 kids, writing and managing a household I am often times too exhausted to doll myself up to get on stage!  By the remote chance that I have energy to perform who has the time or free brain cells to memorize poetry along side keeping track of dentist appointments and oil changes?

So tonight was a treat for me!

Tonight I was the feature poet at SpitFire Poetry in East Lansing, hosted by Logic and Ethereal at a cozy art gallery, Metrospace.  The show was great, tons of positive energy, wonderful poetry and an amazing pizza spot next door called Georgio's, which served a delicious nacho pizza (East Lansing has so many cool spots to get good food), truly one of the highlights of my night. Not only was I given the opportunity to present my work, but I was also blessed with the ability to experience new artists, network and build with creative minds. Thanks to the hosts for inviting me and displaying such genuine hospitality and my sincerest appreciation to all the supporters who came out to the show, the crowd was full off love and that alone makes what I do worth it!

Motherhood

Being a mother means sharing your body
Your food
Your money
Your sleep
Your bed
Your laughs
Your tears
Your time
Your spirit
And your love
Endlessly
Openly
Willingly
Selflessly...

Oceans vs. Puddles

She searches for sea shells by the sea shore
she searches for crack rocks by the garbage can but saying that she searches for sea shells by the sea shore sounds so much better
it metaphorically mimics how she scrapes the pavement for any remnants of her dignity,
fingertips calloused and burned from searching for heaven in hell's playground
the street between us serves as an abysmal divide causing me to forget compassion and her to forget pride
our lives leisurely collide
and it crosses my mind
"we're probably way too much alike to like each other"
me as indulgent and her as judgemental
her situation doesnt show me what she has been through, but it shows me that she got stuck,
her rut became her only stability
i pretend that her curses and murmurs are prayers
the whispers and stares dont bother her
the only cares in her world are how to numb the feelings
i want her to hold on and she wants me to let go because i will never understand her struggle
in the scope of my world her oceans may always appear puddles

©Amber Hasan 2013

Death at a funeral

When I die
tell my daughters to wash my
body
Shroud me in white linen
Tell them to pay attention to the details of death
Encourage them to live while alive
Can't come back from the final rest
No greater theft than someone stealing your time
You are defined by how you spend your moments
Existence is a miracle
Make it marvelous
Breathtaking even
Choose happy
That is the greatest truth my pappy ever told me
The evolution of my mother showed me to live boldly and wholly
Don't let pain hold me
Cander isn't always healing
God's grace is evident in every gander
Nothing grander than it's grandeur
Gifts abundant and glorious if you view them as such
Waking up
My Children's touch
The blush of sun rays at Maghrib
Signifying the end to another day
No mourning for the morning
Our light must set someday
© Amber Hasan 2013

Thoughts on the train ride home from Chicago

Beautiful moments of still

Seeing my own reflection in the world seals my connection to everything...and nothing

It could all disappear in an instant

Stop and smell the flowers

Pass the hours with those who make you smile,
compile your memories
but don't let them enslave you,
Nothing on this earth
can save you from meeting death,
So live without fear
...Without Ego
...Without regret

© Amber Hasan 2013