YVONNE BROWN
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Today's Feature: Drew Law

4/22/2013

47 Comments

 

National Poetry Month Celebration

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Bio:  Drew Law is a teaching artist for the American Poetry Museum and the nonprofit organization Split This Rock.  He is also a two time member of DC's National Poetry Slam team, the Beltway Slam  ('11, '12) and a member of the exclusive "Graffiti DC" poets. Drew was a 2011 NUSPA (National Underground Spoken Word Poetry Awards) nominee for “Best Performance: Male.” Drew Law has opened up for artists ranging from Slick Rick and Biz Markie to Sunni Patterson, and Andrea Gibson. He's a host of the prestigious Busboys and Poets and BBE's ground breaking Graffiti DC slam series. Drew is also the host of the TV show "Dope Wordz and Life," a show completely dedicated to spoken word and slam poetry being broadcasted on public access television in DC, Maryland and New York. He's featured all over the country including the "Green Mill," the birthplace of modern slam. Drew Law has a background in working with at risk youth. He holds a deep passion for his American and Palestinian roots. Drew approaches every performance like it’s his last.  He has a deep love for entertaining and serving his community.

Coalminer's Daughter

I Am the son of a coalminer's daughter 
You can tell by the iron ore in my lungs and my affinity for saving sparrows that have wandered a little too far from home

We were both born in a town that you've never heard of


For the first 3 years of my life all I knew was her

and David the gnome

She woke me up on time
Even though that usually meant we were late

She had love in her veins and use to cut her wrists onto my forehead
Told me redemption looked like a Johnny Cash mug shot
Promised me I would never wipe my tears, because when they drop, it reminds you that even pain

Falls away

She had a heart that pumped red blood & blue collars in the back woods where we get drunk off the sky when the moonshines the hardest cause you gotta live this ware-wolf life with a little bit of howl

Said

Son don't trace your footsteps, just paint your path free hand, because Lord knows you can't draw for shyt, and momma can't wait to see what abstract humanity you create for us

Momma

Those burdens you carried. 12 years old already addicted to the fire water. You grew up on the side of the holler that you just didn't get out of. But you found your renegade in a curly eyed man from a desert away

But when dad died

You lost your anchor, and was ship wrecked on a waterfall. Held us in your cabin until  that current beat you down so bad, you were nothing but drift wood for me and your baby daughter to float to shore with

We didn't have money but, God dammit we had love.

You beautiful Loretta Lynn love sonnet you.

And

When we buried you, I could find no gravedigger with neither the skill nor courage to bury something so beautifully flammable. So I commissioned a pic axe gardener to build a flowerbed sized mine that can survive without sunlight. But rise when the moon shines at its peak to wave at fireflies & Goliaths that have nobody to lean on

She was use to getting leaned on

Mom

You let me go. Right when I was strong enough to hold you. Guess you were tired of the night terrors at 4 in the afternoon and didn't want to ruin my sunsets. I miss you every day and I wish I could have you back. But there's something about letting go of loved ones, you get a free hand to hold on to the better things they wanted for you

I am the son of a coalminers daughter

You can tell by the soot on my ring finger

and my ability to bury things

Deep in dark places

Where there is only the silhouette

Of sparrows

The Interview

Where do you draw your inspiration from to write poetry? 
I pull a lot of inspiration from fiction as well as page poetry. Its really all about reading as much as possible to have a full grasp of what your potential is and getting out of your comfort zone. 

What advice do you have for someone that is threatened by poetry? 
Don't ever let applause affect you. People have this idea that good poetry is supposed to have great reactions. That's not always the case, the best poetry always hushes a room. And find a safe place that is comfortable to perform. It may be difficult, but its really worth it. 

What is an interesting fact about you?
I battle rapped for years and was actually pretty successful. I was even a part of a league called Grind Time and I have opened up for artists like Method Man, Biz Markie and Slick Rick. I really fell into poetry by chance and haven't looked back since.

What is an interesting fact about you?  
I was raised in the Maryland suburbs but my father is Palestinian so I really identify as a Palestinian (which may have been a much better interesting point).

Who is your favorite poet? 
Favorite poet of all time would be 2 time individual poetry champion Buddy Wakefield. He's been a huge inspiration.   

Upcoming Event: Graffiti DC Featuring Drew Law and the Graffiti DC poets  April 24th at Liv Nightclub 8pm

Connect: 
@DrewLawDMV
Graffitidc.tumblr.com
@GraffitiDC  

47 Comments
Rob link
4/22/2013 11:09:45 pm

Great Poem! wow

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Yvonne Brown
4/22/2013 11:11:15 pm

Thanks for your support Rob!

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Tina link
4/22/2013 11:13:01 pm

WOW! You found another one! The talents you find are truly amazing. Thanks for sharing with us.

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Yvonne Brown
4/22/2013 11:39:59 pm

LOL! Tina! I am glad you think so too! Drew Law is INCREDIBLE! He is one of the most humble and down to earth poets I've met. You should see the collaboration he's done with other poets that have already been featured....it left me speechless!

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Loretta
4/22/2013 11:45:51 pm

How do you find the poets you spotlight? They seem to come from all walks of life.

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Yvonne Brown
4/23/2013 02:18:46 pm

Long story---the short version is this: I've been blessed to meet a lot of incredible people on my writing journey. Thanks for your continued support Loretta!

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Maria Fontaine link
4/23/2013 12:44:10 am

Love the poem in honor of his mom!! very touching!!

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Julie Wilson link
4/23/2013 01:01:04 am

You always find great poets. Thanks

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Yvonne Brown
4/23/2013 02:15:47 pm

Thanks Julie!! I am proud of them all!

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Jana link
4/23/2013 01:02:28 am

very engaging speaker, enjoyed hearing his poetry

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Veronica
4/23/2013 01:35:00 am

Love it! He had me at "Your scalp is like a brailled version of Where's Waldo"
Great poem! I'll get outta here with you Drew ;-)

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Jen @ Existential Evolution link
4/23/2013 02:04:59 am

Great interview and beautiful poem!

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Heather Petersen
4/23/2013 04:37:43 am

Love the interview and the poem. Thanks for another great poet post!

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Deborah link
4/23/2013 09:10:51 am

I think he's right about getting out of your comfort zone and that getting a hushed room may be the best testimony to a great poem.

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Yvonne Brown
4/23/2013 02:16:28 pm

Profound words spoken so true!

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Dov Shapira link
4/23/2013 11:02:50 am

Very strong interview. I like it a lot.
I will to be back for the videos

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Yvonne Brown
4/23/2013 02:15:18 pm

Thanks Dov!

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Laurie Hagedorn link
4/23/2013 11:59:27 am

Thank you, Yvonne. I look forward to my visits to your blog and appreciate the artists you highlight each time!

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Yvonne Brown
4/23/2013 02:14:50 pm

Thanks for your comment and support Laurie!! That makes me happy!

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Todd link
4/23/2013 04:34:48 pm

Great stuff!!!

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Neville Adams link
4/24/2013 01:07:45 pm

Master of the mix, gatekeeper of the part of our soul that strives to live erect...Drew is one of the most genuine guys I have ever known!

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Yvonne link
4/25/2013 05:02:43 am

Where do you find all these amazing people??

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Jose
4/28/2013 06:08:38 am

I had the fortunate opportunity of having Drew as a visitor in my world literature class. The whole class seemed to enjoy everything he had to share, whether it was a piece or some of his background. His energy is very commendable.

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Leo
4/28/2013 09:12:38 am

Beautiful and funny poem thanks for sharing

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Mario
4/28/2013 10:36:10 am

Drew is just a great poet. His poems just really get to me like they give me goose bumps. In all honesty he has great potential. I even got the chance to meet him in person he's great!

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cynthia
4/29/2013 01:52:02 am

It was an honor and privilege to be able to know about his work personally. I had the privelege for him to come to my literature class and i learned a lot about his poetry and the poems were inspirational.

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Maxwell
4/29/2013 06:11:40 am

Your poetry had me on my toes, very inspirational!!

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Javier
4/29/2013 07:59:36 am

"In Cold Blood" relationship can mindbottle your emotions.

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edwin
4/29/2013 08:20:33 am

He's a great poet, I even had the chance to meet him in person during my world lit class. I have never seen someone memorize so many poems in one's head before, it was mind blowing.

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Elijah
4/29/2013 09:10:43 am

The line where he says he was the son of a coalminer's daughter caught my attention. It leads me to believe she was a hard worker much like my own mom.

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Sagen
4/29/2013 10:47:43 am

He creates really interesting poetry in my opinion.

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Paola
4/29/2013 11:47:05 am

Wow! It's amazing to know that you are chosen to be feature on here! When Drew came to my World Literature class, I found his work very energetic and entertaining. I love these kind of works because I, honestly, would never be as energetic and commendable towards the crowd like that but his way of expressing is related to our words and into his own words. I say he is one of my favorite poets and hopefully that I can one day hear him again with the rest of the crowd listening his great work. He also seems to relate a lot towards our world and is very honest as well. Great job!

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Blanca
4/29/2013 01:50:00 pm

I've seen him perform. He seems like he's in a different world when he performs his work, I love how his poetry has a very profound meaning but is humorous at the same time. I love his work,

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Jazmine A.
4/30/2013 01:06:03 pm

His breakup poem was very creative to me. The way he presents his poetry is very special and it keeps your attention the whole entire time.

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selena
5/1/2013 06:54:18 am

I liked the poems they were so real and interesting. And your flow made it easy to follow the stories you told.

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JasmineBW
5/1/2013 10:12:48 am

"We didn't have money but, God dammit we had love." the passion within this line adds so much meaning to the poem. It shows his true feelings despite the circumstances.

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Lovely Ruth R.
5/1/2013 11:01:25 am

beautiful poem. He told his audience his story through poetry. It was emotional. was full of imagery I can almost feel as if I was there in his life. lol

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Francisco Santos
5/1/2013 12:28:23 pm

Incredible poetry! Love his style of poetry. It keeps you listening and it's quite relatable at some parts. I liked how he described feelings of love in the second poem.

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Ian H
5/2/2013 05:11:58 am

This style of poetry is one of my favorite. It bring comedy into the scene yet gives you something to think about. The first one was my favorite, he showed a lot of emotion in his words.

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Kylie Holliday
5/2/2013 07:06:06 am

Your voice has such power. It really gets your message across.

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Davonte S.
5/2/2013 08:55:53 am

The way he puts is bars together shows that his words have meaning. For someone who really isn't into poetry like me, he draws you in to make you want to know what he is going to say next.

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Rochelle Parry
5/2/2013 11:35:57 am

I like how he got the room laughing but than he got all intense and it just was so deep and wonderful.

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Cristian Alvarado
5/2/2013 02:35:52 pm

Poems with so much emotions love the poem he dedicated to his mother . Like the way he presents his poetry

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Thomas Velez
5/2/2013 11:20:16 pm

The poem when you were talking about a love bring back some memories of my parents being together. My mom and my dad were always fighting or so loving depending on the day. Your poem brought back some good memories and some bad memories. Memories of eating together and laughing, and memories of me sitting down in my room crying wishing they will stop fighting

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Deanee
5/6/2013 06:48:48 am

I love his flow of words. Everything has a meaning and a context. His poem is more along the forms of a rap but it still speaks poetic freedom to me.

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Guyvin
5/8/2013 09:38:23 am

His poem titled "Why don't we get Outta here" was able to catch my attention with his deliver and the many different or humorous things that they could do togethe. Some of the stuff he said I had never heard before and it really changed my perception on certain spectrum of poetry.

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Evan Flores link
5/10/2013 08:29:56 am

I watched this poem in class and this poem I could really relate. The name "in cold blood" speaks for it all. When you fall in love everything can feel so sweet but when the reality sets in that the relationship is nothing but lust or temporary compassion it feel like the world can come to an end. But in the end you have to stay strong because with time comes blessings.

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