Anis Mojgani
Encyclopedia
Anis Mojgani (born June 13, 1977) is a spoken word
poet, visual artist and musician based in Portland
, Oregon
.
Mojgani has been characterized as a "geek genius" with "fiercely hopeful word arias". Mojgani was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana
, moved to Georgia
and graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
in Comic Book
art and an Master of Fine Arts
in Performing Arts
. Mojgani is able to earn an income as a touring poet.
Mojgani mentions several influences -" Jeffrey McDaniel
, Richard Brautigan
, Charles Bukowski
, Gregory Corso
, Kerouac, MF DOOM
, Aesop Rock
, Robert Rauschenberg
, Basquiat
, Chris Ware
, Frank Miller
, Saul Williams
, Walt Whitman
, Savannah, GA, New York
, New Orleans, being broke, being a hermit
, Shoot the Piano Player
, the Bahá'í writings and history
."
Mojgani won back-to-back titles in the National Individual Poetry Slam
in 2005 and 2006, was interviewed in 2006 on KUOW-FM
's The Beat, and was in the documentary Slam Planet: War of the Words. In 2007 Mojgani was on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and placed 2nd in Poetry Slam, Inc.
's 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam and won first place at 2007 World Cup Poetry Slam held in Bobigny
, France
as part of the French National Slam Championships among 16 National Poetry Slam Champions. and published and cover in the Summer 2007 edition of RATTLE
.
Over the course of his career, Mojgani has been a member of several poetry slam teams, including New Orleans, NYC-Urbana and Seattle. He is also a member of 2007's Solomon Sparrow's Electric Whale Revival and 2008's Junkyard Ghost Revival, both of which featured poets Buddy Wakefield
and Derrick C. Brown
as actively touring members.
Mojgani was also named in the book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam as one of the poet who "saw success" after leaving New York City's notoriously competitive Poetry Slam community. Author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
wrote,
On January 9, 2010 he performed at To Write Love On Her Arms Heavy & Light Tour in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where his poem "Shake The Dust" stole the show.
Mojgani is of the Bahá'í faith.
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
poet, visual artist and musician based in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Mojgani has been characterized as a "geek genius" with "fiercely hopeful word arias". Mojgani was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, moved to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
and graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah College of Art and Design
SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
with a Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in Comic Book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
art and an Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Performing Arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
. Mojgani is able to earn an income as a touring poet.
Mojgani mentions several influences -" Jeffrey McDaniel
Jeffrey McDaniel
Jeffrey McDaniel is an American poet. He has published four books of poetry, most recently 'The Endarkenment' . He is the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts...
, Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan
Richard Gary Brautigan was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. He is best known for his 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.- Early life :...
, Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, Gregory Corso
Gregory Corso
Gregory Nunzio Corso was an American poet, youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers...
, Kerouac, MF DOOM
MF Doom
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
, Aesop Rock
Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz , better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American hip hop artist and producer. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it...
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
, Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
, Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
, Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, Saul Williams
Saul Williams
Saul Stacey Williams is an American poet, writer, actor and musician known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop and for his leading role in the 1998 independent film Slam.-Biography:...
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
, Savannah, GA, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Orleans, being broke, being a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
, Shoot the Piano Player
Shoot the Piano Player
Shoot the Piano Player is a 1960 French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Charles Aznavour.The film is loosely based on the novel Down There by David Goodis.- Plot summary :...
, the Bahá'í writings and history
Bahá'í history
Bahá'í history is often traced through a sequence of leaders, beginning with the Báb's May 23, 1844 declaration in Shiraz, and ultimately resting on an administrative order established by the central figures of the religion. The religion had its background in two earlier movements in the...
."
Mojgani won back-to-back titles in the National Individual Poetry Slam
National Poetry Slam
The National Poetry Slam is a performance poetry competition where teams from across the United States, Canada, and France participate in a large-scale poetry slam. The event occurs in early August every year and takes place in a different US city....
in 2005 and 2006, was interviewed in 2006 on KUOW-FM
KUOW-FM
KUOW-FM 94.9 is a National Public Radio affiliate radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is a top-ranked radio station in the Seattle/Tacoma media market...
's The Beat, and was in the documentary Slam Planet: War of the Words. In 2007 Mojgani was on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and placed 2nd in Poetry Slam, Inc.
Poetry Slam, Inc.
Poetry Slam, Inc. is the official 501 non-profit organization charged with overseeing the international coalition of poetry slams...
's 2007 Individual World Poetry Slam and won first place at 2007 World Cup Poetry Slam held in Bobigny
Bobigny
Bobigny is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Bobigny is the préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Bobigny...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as part of the French National Slam Championships among 16 National Poetry Slam Champions. and published and cover in the Summer 2007 edition of RATTLE
RATTLE
RATTLE is an award-winning poetry magazine based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1994, the magazine is published by the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation. Established writers such as Philip Levine, Jane Hirshfield, Billy Collins, Sharon Olds, Gregory Orr, and others have appeared in RATTLE,...
.
Over the course of his career, Mojgani has been a member of several poetry slam teams, including New Orleans, NYC-Urbana and Seattle. He is also a member of 2007's Solomon Sparrow's Electric Whale Revival and 2008's Junkyard Ghost Revival, both of which featured poets Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield
Buddy Wakefield is an American performance poet/slam poet, whose latest works have been released by Righteous Babe Records and Write Bloody Publishing .- Biography :...
and Derrick C. Brown
Derrick C. Brown
Derrick C. Brown, a poet/performer and former paratrooper born January 19th 1978, travels the world performing his written work. He has gained a something of a cult following for his performances, which incorporate spoken word, music and even magic...
as actively touring members.
Mojgani was also named in the book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam as one of the poet who "saw success" after leaving New York City's notoriously competitive Poetry Slam community. Author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is an American poet and writer. Recently, she was awarded a 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry.-Life:...
wrote,
On January 9, 2010 he performed at To Write Love On Her Arms Heavy & Light Tour in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where his poem "Shake The Dust" stole the show.
Mojgani is of the Bahá'í faith.