Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Writers’’ BLOCK. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Writers’’, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It was January 15,2017 when we had the opportunity to participate in a life changing experience. Let’s rewind, a local poet hosted a writing workshop and we attended (Karimah and Newlee). She had a special guest poet from Phoenix, AZ. He spoke about the Spoken Word community in Phoenix and an open mic he had hosted for 7 years, called Home Base Poetry..We performed and he was blown away. We exchanged contact information and we told him we were going to make it our mission to come to Phoenix.

A few weeks later he reached out to us and let us know he would be celebrating, 8years, hosting one of the longest running open mics in the country with a big show. He wanted to know if we’d come and perform. We made it happen, partly the experience and partly the adventure of a new City and State drove our decision.

Fast forward back to 1/15/17, not only was the crowd one of the biggest we’ve ever performed in front of , they showed as an overwhelming amount of love and support . We had merch with us and they paid more than our asking price, wished us nothing but the best for our journey. We gained fans and a new family that day.

We knew then the possibilities with Spoken Word and decided we wanted to pursue it passionately with a purpose to touch every one we encounter!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

(Newlee) I was wandering around on Tennessee State University’s Campus, and soon found myself backstage working as a stagehand for the play “A Colored Museum”. It was there I fell in love with theatre telling stories through acting and play writing. It wasn’t until I took an oral interpretation class that I was introduced to the art of Spoken Word. Through theatre I discovered how to tell a story but through Spoken Word,I am able to tell my own story.

(Karimah) I began writing poetry in the 10th grade as an assignment in my Literature Class. I remember reading it to my friends and they didn’t believe I wrote the poem. My senior year in High School Souther Word , an organization that comes into schools introducing students to poetry, came and taught our English AP class about the art of Spoken Word. It was there I learned the different types of poetry. That year I participated in my first SLAM . Few years later I experienced some hard times and began writing again. I was desperate to find a space to perform and be around poetry.

I met Newlee a few weeks later on TSUs campus at an open mic hosted by writers’ BLOCK

writers BLOCK (Karimah and Newlee) is an artistic duo, providing the service of Spoken Word, weather it be for a commercial, a conference, a workshop, motivational speaking, weddings, creative consultations, prison reform, summer school enrichment programs, teaching and leading we’ve worked in a multitude of roles. We feel like that is what sets us apart. I mean look around poetry surrounds us. There is nothing more fulfilling than that connection, when we can reach someone, and impact them with our words.

We are the most proud of the love poetry has bought us. We are married and poetry played a vital role in our union. Poetry has built us a treasured community, gifted us with amazing experiences and opportunities that has reassured us we are on the right path.

We want people to know that we all have a purpose and it is our job to pursue that purpose with passion. It won’t be easy, our journey has been full of ups, downs, loss, and sorrow. But It’ll be worth it!

Poetry is what bought us together it’s preservation is what keeps us going.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As we stated earlier, poetry is in everything. Our goal/mission is to elevate the art of Spoken Word. Spoken Word/ Poetry recently got added as a category for the Grammys! That’s awesome and a step in the right direction. We want to see the expansion of Spoken Word throughout all platforms.

We desire to bring awareness through our words, speaking on hard topics, and overlooked issues.

When you consider the power of words a profession based solely on the word shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes!! Often times we as artists may hold on to resources, keeping them to ourselves with the fear of the resource running out BUT there are so many opportunities ENOUGH for everyone!

We applied for a grant to do a Live Museum. We wanted to showcase the history of Jefferson Street (Nashville,TN) in a creative manner, a unique perspective.

The grant was for $10,000 and we were awarded the entire $10,000 after submitting our proposal . We wish we knew that there is money out there and people who believe in your vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.writetheblock.com
• Instagram: writetheblock
• Facebook: writetheblock
• Youtube: Word On the Block

Image Credits
Justin Woolen Mike DuBose