It has been  while since we posted our update but no worries we now have a team of dedicated people to serve your visual needs…giggles

After bLAck Out session that we really enjoyed and shared pics with we have the most amazing session we have had  in a while. We were given the chance to have Prince the saxophonist from Nigeria wowing the crowed with a song tittled Mama Poetry. We had never seen such were Mama poetry was bushing to the point where she turned blue #laughs.

In a way though it was a goodbye moment for her as she was called off for a family emergency where she couldn’t coordinate the following two sessions. POets passport crew handled them with such diligence that when she returned she was more than delighted that everyone enjoyed and continued with the spirit of poetry in Cyberjaya.

The turn out was amazing as usual as we have more people joining us who found us through social networking #FaceBook and were welcomed with the love we all share. for the forst time we had student from KDU, APIIT, TAYLORS, SUNWAY, MMU MELAKA, HELP joining us for the first time. They themselves loved the environment and they definitely would come for the next sessions on wards.

For the October session we moved locations to Krish Restaurant. First session held here was ‘Fast Forward to the Future’.

At first the mood was quite mellow, new location, new emotions and most people were not sure what to expect. But as we got into Open Mic the crowd got psyched as if they had been waiting the whole night just for that moment. We had Fangs who came up and with his poem “White City” left bite marks on the audience already smitten with his earlier performances. Newcomer Jamal wowed the crowd with his words as he perfectly blended malay and english to deliver a uniquely “Jamal” style of poetry.

Not forgetting the regulars who as usual, “killed it!”.What usually brings  together a night of great performances is a good MC and on that night Andrew(aka Bakijani, the ringmaster) brought it together like tying shoelaces.

His legendary introductions, almost performances in themselves, rocked the crowd on that night and a brought beautiful end to his reign as Poetspassport MC.

With the success of ‘fast forward  to the future’, we had to have a finale for the year.

‘Seven Deadly Sins’, was a beautiful session and brought a great end to an amazing year in poetry.  This session was held in honour of all the people who would be leaving us at the end of 2010. Crew members who had poured their life, energy and time into Poetspassport. We said goodbye to Kennie,  Ngendo, Walter, Salim and Andrew

and in the way of poets with passports we rocked the night and looked forward to a new  and exciting year….

To sum it all up, what we had was nothing but amazing and we have learned so much as Poet’s Passport even with the Mama poetry not there for these two sessions and having to reach that part of the year were we say goodbye to our crew members of which we wish to meet again. This wil help to continue this amazing initiative with them aas core crew members in the future International Poet’s Passport sessions that will be held at their respective countries.

Well till next time do keep logged in  with our videography, photography and updates on our Facebook page.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=175970359327

Cheers

Peace, LOve and POetry

Statistics are a man’s best friend and words are what feeds the soul. I always say that, it is when you know where you are going when you know where you are coming from as the past is what builds you to become the person you are. With the first session on 24^th of July 2009, starting from 5 crew members to 18, from 22 face book members to 221, from 18 poets and poetry lovers to 48 and from black and white pictorial evidence to high quality pictures, branded to perfection and lastly having a you tube account where you can see and hear what we have to say as poets of Cyberjaya  and beyond.

Visions and dreams get as clear as the blue sky and for that I am happy to show through pictorial evidence and tell you how it all went down from beginning to continued existence as there is no end just yet as there is still so much we can offer and have in stall for you.

We build and promote poets and what we are about is all a conception, the dream of Poet’s Passport to create or to bring together a body of poets, a society of artistically inclined people brought together by the common medium of poetry. A place where such people could connect, share and do life together, unhindered by anything, free to express who and how we are to our hearts content.

We have gained contacts and respected recognition from other poets out there by the likes of  http://poetrycafekl.com/ were our very own Thato Ntshabele known as Cucumber won the second poetry cup. We have also attended a Singapore poetry workshop that lasted for a whole week where still again Cucumber tagged along with Andrew Bakijani otherwise known as Jani and blew the crowed away with poems like “you better de feel me”.  Classik, yes I know but you would have t o attend one of our session to hear it because the effects on that piece are one that you will remember for a days…

After a year of achieving that goal we are sure to say we have grown and still are growing to becoming the poets so as dreamed and gaining the passport to say we have achieved our dream…

Below are Our content as so wished:

[slideshow]

tHE EVENts we have come to appreciate and love

& some of our featured poets and lovely guests that we so love to host…

Communication would be below and feel free to contact us in any manner and will be sure to respond

Blog entries

http://heather091.tumblr.com/post/603266823/potato-and-cumber-vegetable-ways-so-is-it-the

Contact details

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=175970359327&ref=ts

WordPress page: http://poetspassport.wordpress.com/

You tube account: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdQPTjeJMy4&feature=related

Email add: http://poetspassport@live.com

Location: Cyberjaya, Malaysia

If anything and would love to come to our next session be sure to drop us an email or Join our page, we will be sure to respond asap.

Peace, poetry and love my good people

Written by: HeAther otherwise known as MamA pOetry

When passion meets action, the venue is blessed!

Faces showed nil traces of dissapointment from kick off till the whistle blew at PoeTree – Branches of life. Guests were fed a balanced diet of Food For Thought fortified with wisdom and skill at an event that showed no signs of slowing down. Co-MC and Killa Poet Thato (the dude) had to apply emergency breaks and true to the screeching halt, the event ended on a high note in the name of Nzilani Simu.

Writter’s block is a thing of the past at Poets passport for real; ask anyone who attended. The MC was up in the stars, the Poets were behaving like stars and the food was Five star at an event so colourful, it would make a rainbow blush.

April 9th brought us inspiration and skill like we’ve never seen before. Its like the sticks in deco reminded performers to ‘Stick to the script’ this time round with no one stepping off-course and of course, much gratitude to all who helped visibly and invisibly to make this event a success.

In light of this past success we now look forward to the next episode mouths watering with expectation, for the next time our passion is met with action so once again we can bless the venue and watch our poetree grow.

The perfect beginning to a poetic 2010 was served in food, drinks and words last Friday. Despite an unfortunate shortage in veteran poets, fresh new talent flowed like tears off a heavy cloud.

The deco was splendid and the poems blended in perfect harmony with a paper, sticks and grass arrangement. ‘Manifest’ is the word to describe the wealth of new raw talent witnessed in this event that is a brainchild of the Thato and Thato duo.

You know you are in the presence of greatness when extended applause and a standing ovation seems not to be enough of an appreciative gesture.

Such were the scenarios at an event that seemed wanting at first with freshmen shy to step-up to the podium.

Maldives poured out its love, Pakistan its class, Botswana its passion, Lesotho its skill, Kenya its prowess, Malaysia almost cried and the crowd went wild when a fellow with an arrow-shaped mohawk delivered rhymes so deep, it felt like the basement on fourth floor. This event was simply diversity in all its forms showcased in form of poem.

Sadly, our founder MC Danice Kingori could not be with us to witness Taptap taking over her challenging job of introducing speaker after speaker. You would have been proud Dee. We love you, we miss you Kenyan Girl! Tshepi our ambiance manager would be super proud of us and (Thogori with a T) would be congratulating kennie for her success on her first try out. The new crew out did them selves and poets passport is going stringer this year. MORE to thank would be the camera men and video man who are in charge of this evidence.

Come next event and the promise displayed on this opening night will set Cyberjaya on fire when the fuel that is our veteran poets pours in to meet the spark in our new poets. We just can’t wait…

by Andrew Mwini Bakijani

[slideshow]

————————Poet’s Passport is baccccccck!!———————-

It’s a brand new year 2010 and we are kicking it off hard! Last year was amazing and this year promises to take things several notches higher. With so much having gone on in our individual lives over the holidays, there is no better way of starting things off than via our opening “old pen new paper”.

Last year’s show 

As we know

We have lost due, to graduation, our crew members Tshepiso (Tweetheart),Thogori (With a T) and Dee (Loco) but we still have them with us via online and with the coming podcast’s we shall all be able to communicate with them easily. Thanks to technology ^_^

Since its inception, the dream of Poet’s Passport has been to create or to bring together a body of poets; a society of artistically inclined people brought together by the common medium of poetry. A place where such people would connect, share and do life together, unhindered by anything; free to express who and how we are to our hearts content.

This year

We are working more on workshops towards the two main events where everyone is invited to come view our home brewed, not only skilled but experts at the art or words, hands and thoughts. So the next coming 4 sessions we shall be doing workshops by invite only so please don’t be alarmed or disappointed If you don’t receive an invite as we really want to make the 2 main shows worth it and well organized.

Purpose

The purpose of this society is to serve as a platform for positivity where we can develop our artistic selves (in terms of the visuals and poetry). Because poetry and art are such universal concepts, we desire to have people from all over, not just Africa or Asia but the world. Because we also want to develop wider perspective through seeing and understanding other people’s points of view and hopefully in the end foster a sense of social consciousness amongst ourselves.

If you have been to one of our sessions, then you are already know that connection is what we aim for, so that relationships extend beyond the poetry night and spills over into our lives. The commonality of the poetic bond far transcends any superficial differences that come between us. We, you and I are becoming a kaleidoscope of colors, nations, peoples and individuals. We are the poetic rainbow that colors the skies after and in between the rains of hardship, we are a Hope, a Promise and our words are our passports to this expression.

Opening theme for  the year

Important Details

The first workshop (The month of March)

We are expecting an impressive turnout to our expressive world of words, sounds and gestures this coming Friday. Please bring your hearts, thoughts and voices and be inspired as you inspire fellow wordsmiths.

Date: 5^th of March 2010

The Time: 7pm / 1900hours

Location: Crescent Two

house number 3a-12

Charge: RM20 (please as you all know, have the money transferred in by midnight (tomorrow

Mid day latest)

Transport: there will be no transport provided for workshops so please get together with your friends and

split for cabs. As for getting back from the workshops transport will be provided as it

will be after midnight for people staying in Subang and Puchong areas.
The regular splendid bitings, wine and fine things will be there to welcome you all. See you at the place where Pens reign; sharper than swords.

Peace, poetry and love,

———————–The Poets Passport crew———————

So we’re rapidly coming up on our 3rd poets passport session. YAY!! The crew is super duper excited, our toes are collectively curled in anticipation. The 1st and 2nd events were fantastic, we promise that the 3rd will be nothing short of pure, distilled awesomeness. Here’s a short brief about what to expect.

~BOO!!~

POET’S PASSPORT Is Back Again, bigger and better!

THEME:

“Exploring Cultural Diversity on a Hallow’s Eve”

DETAILS:

Halloween’s coming Up Guys! and Halloween is one of MANY cultures that have formed in our World today… Culture is touches on so much of what we experience in todays world. Be it global, tribal, art, fashion, POETRY, music, youth and so much more, culture is an integral part of modern lifestyle… On this ‘hallow’s eve’ we wish to Explore the many different Cultures, their diversity and dynamics.

This will be the last poet’s passport session for the year, so lets make the most of it!

DATE: Friday 30th October (Hallow’s Eve)

TIME: 1900hrs-0100hrs

VENUE: The Studio, Cyberjaya Cottage Walk
Near Petronas petrol station, a few units down the road from Sri Penang Restaurant. Look for some funky looking wall design on the first floor.

DRESSCODE: STRICTLY, ALL BLACK AND A PIECE OF CULTURE.

DAMAGE: RM25 a head for the delicious food (first timers can ask around and hear! ) and Sangria to lubricate those nerves. Non alcoholic drinks will also be available.

INVITES: Your most welcome to invite friends, however payment and confirmation must be made by the deadline because we can only accommodate a maximum number of people.

DEADLINE: The deadline for payment is SATURDAY 24th of October.

CONFIRMATION: Confirmation is to be done by email so that we can have the names in the database. Send an email to poetspassport@live.com to confirm.

PAYMENT: Payment can be made by:
(i)Banking in to Maybank or CIMB account. If you choose this option, kindly send an email to poetspassport@live.com to request for the relevant account number.

(ii)Contacting one of the coordinators and handing them the money physically. The coordinators are Heather, Dee, Thato, Tshepi and Thogori ONLY. Confirmation must still be made by email.

*PLEASE BE SURE TO CONFIRM AND PAY ASAP BECAUSE WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF SPOTS*

OTHER ARTISTIC PIECES:

We intend to reach out by showcasing our work and give appreciation to all artistic abilities. If you have paintings, artwork, photography, fashion pieces crafts for us to showcase please send it through to us and we shall put them on display with due credits.

If you want to play a piece with your guitar or other instrument you are more than welcome to. Just email you name and the length of the piece by Saturday the 24th of October 8pm and will slot you into the program.

TRANSPORTATION OPTION:

We understand that it might be difficult for some of you in terms of transport, and paying cabs after midnight can be pricey. Therefore we have arranged a standby transportation option if there are enough people who indicate that they need it.

The van will have several pick up points. Sunway pyramid, Vista Millennium, Vista Prima, Desaria and Cyberia. Drop off will be done at the individuals homes in these areas.

The two way charges are RM25 Sunway/Subang, RM20 Puchong, RM15 Desaria and RM10 Cyberjaya. One way charges are simply half of those indicated.

If you opt for this, indicate to us by email your name, location, and whether you want both ways or just one way(indicate which). Deadline for this is also 24th of October.

GOT QUESTIONS? Email poetspassport@live.com or call Heather (0163546933) or Thogori (0162644614).
Also join our facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=175970359327 for more information.

Hey Guys!!
Welcome to Poet’s Passport, Thank you so much for joining.

We have had a couple of sessions already and we realise that we have never really explained ourselves, in terms of what is “Poets Passport”? What is the vision behind it? And how is it all relevant to any poet( you incuded)?
To be honest we would hate to have you think that we get together once a month just so we recite, eat and that’s it…

Since it’s inception the dream of Poet’s Passport has been to create or to bring together a body of poets, a society of artistically inclined people brought together by the common medium of poetry. A place where such people would connect, share and do life together, unhindered by anything, free to express who and how we are to our hearts content.

The purpose of this society is to serve as a platform for positivity where we can develop our artistic selves (in terms of the visuals and poetry). Because poetry and art are such universal concepts, we desire to have people from all over, not just Africa or Asia but the world. Because we also want to develop wider perspective through seeing and understanding other people’s points of view and hopefully in the end foster a sense of social consciousness amongst ourselves.

If you have been to one of our sessions, then you are already a part of the body of poets or artistic souls forming around the Poet’s Passport. You have met others like you in a way that allowed you to see each other in ways that you wouldn’t have under normal circumstances. That connection is what we aim for, so that relationships extend beyond the poetry night and spills over into our lives.

The commonality of the poetic bond far transcends any superficial differences that come between us. We, you and I are becoming a kaleidoscope of colours, nations, peoples and individuals. We are the poetic rainbow that colours the skies after and in between the rains of hardship, we are a Hope, a Promise and our words are our passports to this expression.

Peace, poetry and love,

The Poets Passport crew

Heather (Phuttie Tang), Tshepiso (Tweetheart), Thato (Cucumber), Thogori (With a T), Dee (Loco)

So I finally got my mitts on some visual evidence of the afore blubbered about male female agenda, in case any of you thought it was just a well thought out figment of my imagination!! Any pictures that make any of us look like we were, erm, intoxicated, are pictures that have been heavily doctored by individuals who shall remained unamed, because in truth all of us earnest poets are very sober beings, teeheehee!!

I can say with a certain amount of certainty that the smile was by large cause by the spread in the background.

The hustle and bustle. The settling and mood setting.

A poet must listen to speak, and listen the poets did.

A short introduction to set the ball rolling.

More to come, and I hear rumors that moving pictures are lurking somewhere, true story. That being the case, we shall not, we will not rest, until they are broadcast here. Meanwhile, stay tuned….

Due to certain Technical difficulties (Read the technologically impaired Loco “somehow” lost the blog password we were offline for a while, however, we’re back, merrier than ever poeticizing like there is no tommorow! But before I go into that, let me first takeyou into afew yesterdays ago…..

We held poets passport 2: The male female agenda (The paradigm shift) it was absolutely amazing! What do you get when male poets are waxing lyrical about Vaginas unite and female poets are on about their spanish tools? In a word Hilarity!! The male female agenda venture attempted to thrust men into venus and women into mars for a night, to increase empathy among the sexes.

There was a fantastic turnout as we saw the crowd doubling from poets passport 1 and throughout the night the ball was kept rolling as poet after poet stepped onto the hot seat, and this time we didn’t even have to get them hammered sensless!! The food was great, the music was soothing, the words were insightful and the atmosphere was charged with the poetic sting of truth, hope, fantasy, melancholy… a melting pot of raw skill (well it was charged with that and barbeque smoke, but lets not get into that

We also strove at the second event to explore a more artistic side of each indiviual poets. To that end we introduced expression through painting. It was an interesting lesson in the images that flit through poets’ heads, the *ahem* Van Goghesque fingerpaintings would have quickly put any five year old to shame 

Words may not explain much because the vibrance, the sound, the rythym, the soul, the colour, the poetry, it all needs to be seen. So stay tuned to this space for graphic evidence….

Details on Poet’s passport 3 will also be divulged very soon!

Till then, on behalf of the merry poets, lots of Loco love and massive bless!

In the bible it says in the beginning there was a word, a fitting endorsment to poetry because a poet’s passport is his/her words, and without a doubt there was no shortage of these at our very first jam, well, at least after the alcohol had set in, hehe! But I get ahead of myself, let me take you to the begin…

In the beginning (After the words) there was a lovely lady who we shall chose to name Phuttie Tang for the purposes of this post. Phuttie noticed that in Cyberjaya, Malaysia there was no poetic society and so Phuttie did what phuttie does best, she decided to start one, there are fairy tale endings, this was a fairy tale begining, rife with passion and cause and fire.

Phuttie Tang got together her band of merrymen to go about this noble cause of saving the city from it’s poetry less existence. These merryfolk were called Loco, Thato and Tshepi. Together they planned and plotted to bring together the finest poetic minds around the city, distract them with gorgeous ambience, ply them with food and wine and then……. get them to speak!!! A fine plot indeed!

So Phuttie and her merry men went merrily about their quest. And as with all quests, it was beset with challenges. However after much postponment, the day for the execution of this crafty plan (i.e. the poetry jam) came. I’ll skip over most of the antics, I’m sure most of you don’t want to know how Phuttie and Loco lost a car in a Mall parking while shopping for the event. We’ll move right along to the Jam itself,  7.30pm onwards.

At 7.30pm the guests dutifully started arriving, completely disregarding the ethics of African timing. the organisers however were still rushing up and down. One was not dressed, the other had not printed the tags or picked up the projector, the computer to be used for the jam was yet to be packed by the other and the Potato salad was still sitted prettily at the back of the car as disguising itself cunningly as fresh vegetables in a grocery bag. Calls were coming in, panic was setting in it, seemed like the event would be a huge disaster!! What we hadn’t banked on however was that the guests would be absolute darlings!! The minute we arrived at the location with the groceries and assorted paraphanelia, teams were mobilized. Within no time all hands were on deck. There was chopping and sauteing going on in the kitchen, the projector was being set up, throw pillows were being distributed and candles were being lit.

After everyone had a plate of lovely tidbits in one hand and a glass of ermmm, “Nourishing fluids” in the other, we got down to the agenda of the day. The opening poem was about a girl, and the way she was loved made me want to be that girl, it was followed by a poem about a rose that was black, that I’m still processing up till now… The roll of the ball had been set but the pace was a bit slow, poets are shy people, the have to take time to unravel before  they bloom and say their words out loud. However the aforementioned nourishing fluids greatly aided the unravelling process and before long people were speaking, many for the first time infront of an audience not reflected in a mirror. Pens were being whipped out as some chose to scribble furiously so that words didnt escape them. It was fantastic!!

But that was just the beginning, there is more to come……