Sewey Hole Family presents Bruiz and Friends , a Live poetry reading filmed at the infamous Pen and Pencil club in Philadelphia. The event including poetry readings from James Feichthaler, Bob Zell and myself, Toni Love will ONLY be viewed on the Facebook page of Keith Outlaw so visit the Event page to access the link to watch us live.
I hope you are able to check out the show. I will be reading a few new poems but please support and grab a copy of my poetry book or CD from my website and I’d be happy to autograph it for you.
Refusing the courtesy ride home in the back of the police car.
He was innocent.
No apologies for being accused of fitting the description of someone who was running and not doing anything but fitting the description of every black boy profiled.
A black boy running at night.
The cops told me that he wasn’t running when they stopped him. Thank God, I thought.
Because black boys who run get murdered.
So today I feel sad for you and all of the children we’ve lost to racism.
Today I selfishly thank you.
Thank you George for your life because it may have saved the life of my son.
A black boy who just wanted to breathe fresh air.
A black boy who just wants to feel freedom.
I pray for him.
I honor You.
You couldn’t breathe but he will breathe and run and stop and take breath and return home again today
I pray .
~ M. Tonita Austin aka Toni Love
written on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. 5.25.22
Hey I hope you’re coming out on May 18th to check me out. I’ll be reading from my book Toni’s Room along with these fabulous poets at Fergie’s pub. But if you cannot then click the link below to get all the information you need to register for the virtual zoom reading. I hope you can join either way, but if you come out, you can get on the open mic. ♥️All my love, Toni
Live Poetry Event: Tonita Austin, Sibelan Forrester, Alison Lubar Wednesday May 18, 2022 – 7pm Fergie’s Pub 1214 Sansom Street and on zoom – Registration Required
Come out and hang with me in the City!
I’m excited to share my poetry for the first time at a Moonstone Arts Center event with these gifted poets! There will be an open mic and loads of fun and poetry ❤️. I will also have copies of my book “Toni’s Room” for sale and if you already have a copy and want it signed, please bring it with you. They make wonderful Mother’s day gifts.
Elevator available, open mic and refreshments afterwards.
Repost from the Mad Poets Society of PA newsletter:
Friends and fans of poetry! Our next First Wednesday poetry reading, at 7:00 p.m. on April 6, will feature two wonderful poets: Tonita Austin, aka Toni Love, and James Feichthaler!
The reading will take place in the Ballroom, *upstairs* at the Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Rd., Wallingford, PA. If anyone has questions or needs info about the CAC elevator, contact series host Sibelan Forrester at <sforres1@swarthmore.edu> or leave voicemail at (610) 328-8162.
Light refreshments will be served, and an Open Mic will follow the featured reading.
This intensive word/ thought/ emotion, self-truth-culling, seeks to be a journey of healing, art, therapy, and authentic conversations about life that will result in the creation of individual works/excerpts of EPIC memoir poetry. Each student is invited to perform their created works at this live-streamed event.
Check out the live streamed event on the SIFT Media 215 You Tube Channel tonight, Sunday January 30th from 6-7:30 PM. It’s a creative masterpiece to heal your soul, with the finale by Ursula Rucker!
Greetings! If you’re in the neighborhood and enjoy being outdoors, please join us: Sunday, September 19 – 11:00am at Sankofa Farm in Bartram Gardens “Mother Tongue” is the final program in the series that celebrations the fortifying roots of Black Art. The cob oven, called “The Furrow” is both a work of art and a symbol of divine womanhood, was created by Philly Jawn and award-winning multidisciplinary artist, Misty Sol. Inspired by Toni Morrison’s book, Paradise, the oven will be lit, and fruits will be available in this gathering in remembrance of indigenous peoples and all our multicultural / multi-ethnic ancestors who made use of the land to feed loved ones. Bring your young people, too, to express their craft-making creativity, to dance, to sing, and to introduce themselves on the open mic. Also featuring Karen Smith and Ursula Rucker. All are welcome! Wednesday, September 22 – Autumn Equinox at The Woodlands Philly Jawns–Aziza Kebe, Lois Moses, Kia Knight, Sherry Wilson Butler–will be performing “That Blackness: In Tribute to Nina Simone” as part of the Weez The Peoples (Karen Smith & Donna Dorman) set of the Ars Nova Workshop’s Autumn Equinox Festival. The full schedule is below, with the Weez The People’s performance time scheduled from 6:15pm to 7:15pm. (Philly Jawns will close the Weez portion of show at 7:00pm). Please register in advance, don’t forget to bring a lawn chair, and don’t worry about dusk–the space will be lit and so will the stage. Also featuring Philly Jawn, Toni Love, one of Philly’s favorite jazz vocalists, V. Shayne Frederick, and a few other Philly superstars! https://www.arsnovaworkshop.org/programs/new-grass-odean-pope-immanuel-wilkins-chad-taylor-trio-autumn-equinox-celebration-2021/ Performance Times 5:00 – 6:00 PM Spirits Up 6:15 – 7:15 PM Weez The Peoples 7:30 – 8:45 PM Odean Pope/Immanuel Wilkins/Chad Taylor Hope to see you ! ____________________ Powell-Wright http://www.phillyjawns2020.com Editor/Curator, Philly Jawns: For Women Revisited Lead Strategist, SistahWrites! Founder/Performer, For Women Collective Recipient, Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grant Recipient, Pollination Project Grant Recipient, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Art & Travel Grant Founding Member/Performer, In The Company of Poets Guest Performer: Sistahs Laying Down Hands
MAD POETS SOCIETY . Join us tonight for the next Livin’ on Luck reading at 7 pm! We will feature Pat Kelly, Toni Love, and Francesco Pasqualino. Open mic will follow hosted by Brooke Palma. To register, use the link below. See you there! Registration Link: https://wcupa.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0udu-srzkrH9MkU0-RXt2oPzi1gB9giaND?fbclid=IwAR0S58sEyLeH2zARcRshO0mkZv0lSfzBDaXuLypAu1WDa0QYqKQLZzxsDIQ Pat Kelly is a writer from Harrisburg. He writes poetry and fiction that explores the dark fringes of humanity and its impact on time and memory. He is currently working on his first collection of poetry, Buried Litanies, which is both a means of personal therapy and a voice to his repressed experiences with childhood sexual abuse.
Tonita Austin also known as “Toni Love” is a gifted poet, singer, activist, and writer born in West Philadelphia. While attending Columbia University, Tonita was a student of Amiri Baraka and performed in Ntozake Shange’s “For Colored Girls” as the Lady in Orange. Her writing is influenced by both experiences. She is a contributor to the anthology The Black Body and featured poet in the 2018 and 2020 Winter/Fall edition of the Philadelphia Arts and Urban Literary magazine. The Restoration EP is her first published recording; Toni’s Room is her first published book. Toni currently resides in Media,PA
Francesco Pasqualino is a restauranteur and writer living in Pittsburgh, PA. Francesco has supported many artistic groups including The International Poetry Forum, The Hillman Center for Performing Arts, and The Mad Poets Society, He has had the honor of studying with Ted Kooser and Mary Karr. His writing appears in Voices in Italian Americana, Mad Poets Review, Main Street Rag, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. You’ll find his culinary insights on Attenzione! A Writer’s Journal on his restaurant’s website, pasqualinos.com. He has also shared his family recipes as an invited guest on WQED public television. Mad Poets Society · P.O. Box 1248 · Media, Pa 19063 · USA
When I lost you I found myself Oh but it hurt It pained for so long Thinking of how foolish I had been To believe in you But my hurt turned into poetry And dance And I wrote And danced Until I filled up the emptiness in side of me The void that set inside my soul when you were no longer there Poetry about you and for myself Flowed from my fingertips like golden run at carnival time in Trinidad I loved until I stopped hurting And found not only myself But someone to love me for real And yes I admit there were times I wished that he were you Until constant caresses and truthful signs Showed me that true love accepts me for what I am Oh yes It is finally over Real love has rescued my weary soul And you are but a faded memory Because I am no longer afraid to receive the love That I have been given
(c) Toni Love
Give yourself the gift of poetry on #Valentinesday
Available on Amazon.com or click below to order directly from me!
Not mine son Not mine Not my son Not my brother nephew or current lover Not my neighbor cousin or future husband Not mine Not hers Not anybody’s Son I am not saying no more I am saying not ONE
We with the millions of ancestors behind us Forge a force you will feel into centuries Your generations will not be safe Your land will not be prosperous Your wealth will not sustain you Your privilege will not save you We are millions today plus millions from centuries before u Far more than your eyes can see We gather together seen and unseen When mothers pray it goes straight to heaven Rest assured and be forewarned There will be a price for your descendants to pay If you ever look at my son in a disrespectful, condescending or threatening way We collectively are not playing with you today No more
Toni's Room 