Poetry As Usual

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we're joined by members of The Dope Poets collective: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Lady Kay, Jerome Heka, and Brittany Barker-Waweru. In this episode, they take a journey through some of the most influential eras in Black poetry, exploring movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and The Last Poets, while discussing how...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we're joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, King Quinc, Lady Kay, and King Kamayera. In this episode, they explore the differences between prose writing and poetry. They discuss the tension between the academy's attempts to define art and the idea that art is a form of expression that becomes l...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Brittany Barker, and Jerome Heka. For this special episode, they welcome their first-ever guest to the podcast: Brandon Leake. Brandon Leake is the Season 15 winner of America’s Got Talent , a seven-time Telly Award winner, a SOVAS Award winner, and a...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Lady Kay, King Kamayera, and Jerome Heka. Together, they discuss the evolution of the poet’s journey, which often requires navigating non-poetry spaces. The group reflects on how, before becoming poets, they were first members of a community, and how...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Brittany Barker, King Kamayera, and Jerome Heka. Together, they discuss the relationship between a poet’s character and their talent. They explore how a poet’s intentions shape how they show up in poetry spaces, and they examine etiquette within the c...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, King Kamayera, Lady Kay, and King Quinc. Together, they discussed intellectual property as it relates to poets performing on platforms that record their work. In particular, they explored the tension between poets owning their poems and platforms owni...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Brittany Barker, Lady Kay, and Jerome Heka. Together, they discuss what it means to be a poet and the responsibilities associated with that label. They explore the history of slam poetry and the ongoing debate about whether poets should be judged by f...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual Podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, Brittany Barker, Lady Kay, and King Kamayera. Together, they discuss the current state and culture of spoken word poetry. They share their thoughts on poetry workshops and offer perspectives on how poets can continue improving their craft. The convers...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual Podcast, we’re joined by members of the collective known as The Dope Poets: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, King Quinc, and Jerome Heka. They talk about why they created their platform and their goal of bringing the off-the-record, behind-the-scenes conversations that poets often have into the open. For many reasons, some poets don’t feel comfortable speaki...

On this episode of the Poetry As Usual podcast, we're joined by all the members of The Dope Poets collective: Imani Waweru, Storyteller Gordon, King Kamayera, Lady Kay, Jerome Heka, Brittany Barker-Waweru, and King Quinc. In this episode, the group dives into the art of lyricism, exploring what makes language memorable, impactful, and enduring. They also share some of their favorite books and disc...