Jessica Care Moore
Encyclopedia
Jessica Care Moore is an African American
poet
born in Detroit, on October 28, 1971.
competition 5 times in a row. That same year, she would be filmed for the documentary SlamNation
. The film followed her and the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team (Saul Williams
, Beau Sia
and muMs da Schemer
) as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam
. In the book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, author Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
wrote of Moore's time in the poetry slam, noting "Her razor-sharp verse confronted and addressed the difficulties of being a black woman and a black poet in a culture that seemed to support neither."
She has been referenced by rapper Talib Kweli
and has appeared on rapper Nas
's Nastradamus
album. One of her most famous poems is "Until We Dance, For Joseph" dedicated to a family member who died of AIDS
, which is frequently recited at AIDS Walks. She has performed and collaborated with literary, musical and other noted celebrities such as George Clinton
, Antonio Hart
, Nas
, the late Ossie Davis
, Mos Def
, the late Gregory Hines
, Judith Jamison
, CeCe Winans
, Anthony David
, Roy Ayers
, Gil Scott Heron, Sonia Sanchez
, Steve Harvey
, Cedric the Entertainer
, Patrice Rushen
, Talib Kweli
, Ntozake Shange
, Nikki Giovanni
, The Last Poets
and many more.
and Asha Bandele, as well as three of her own books, The Words Don't Fit My Mouth (1997) and The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto (2003), and God is Not an American. (2009). She has appeared on several episodes of Russell Simmons
' Def Poetry
, has been featured in Essence
magazine and appeared on the television miniseries I'll Make Me A World (1999). She also served as executive producer for and hosted her own television show Spoken (2004) on the Black Family Channel
. In 1999, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Harvard Black Men's Forum. Her publishing house can be found online at www.mooreblackpress.com
She is the Founder of Black Women Rock! A concert, panel and workshop series dedicated to supporting and inspiring women who play rock and roll music. www.blackwomenrock.net
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
born in Detroit, on October 28, 1971.
Career
Moore first won acclaim as the first poet to ever win the nationally televised Showtime at the ApolloShowtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
competition 5 times in a row. That same year, she would be filmed for the documentary SlamNation
SlamNation
SlamNation is a documentary film by director Paul Devlin. The film follows the National Poetry Slam in Portland, Oregon.It follows the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam team as they competed at the 1996 National Poetry Slam held in Portland, OR...
. The film followed her and the 1996 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team (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:...
, Beau Sia
Beau Sia
-Biography:Sia was born in Ohio. He is of Chinese-Filipino descent. Raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Sia discovered spoken word poetry on MTV as a teenager...
and muMs da Schemer
MuMs da Schemer
muMs da Schemer is a poet and actor best known for his role as Arnold "Poet" Jackson on the HBO series Oz....
) as they competed at the 1996 National 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 the book Words In Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam, 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 of Moore's time in the poetry slam, noting "Her razor-sharp verse confronted and addressed the difficulties of being a black woman and a black poet in a culture that seemed to support neither."
She has been referenced by rapper Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
and has appeared on rapper Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
's Nastradamus
Nastradamus
Nastradamus is the fourth studio album by American rapper Nas, released November 23, 1999 on Columbia Records in the United States. It was originally scheduled to be released as a follow-up album composed of material from recording sessions for his third album, I Am… on October 26, 1999...
album. One of her most famous poems is "Until We Dance, For Joseph" dedicated to a family member who died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, which is frequently recited at AIDS Walks. She has performed and collaborated with literary, musical and other noted celebrities such as George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Antonio Hart
Antonio Hart
Antonio Hart is a jazz alto saxophonist. He attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studied with Andy McGhee at Berklee College of Music, and has a master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York. His initial training was classical, but he switched to jazz in college...
, Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, the late Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis
Ossie Davis was an American film actor, director, poet, playwright, writer, and social activist.-Early years:...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, the late Gregory Hines
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
, Judith Jamison
Judith Jamison
Judith Anna Jamison is an American dancer and choreographer, best known as the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater....
, CeCe Winans
CeCe Winans
Priscilla "CeCe" Marie Winans Love is an American Gospel singer, who has won numerous Grammy and Stellar Awards.-Early life:CeCe Winans was born in Detroit, Michigan, to David and Delores Winans, on October 8, 1964...
, Anthony David
Anthony David (singer)
Anthony David Harrington , better known as Anthony David, is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 2008 song "Words", a duet with contemporary R&B singer India.Arie.-Biography:...
, Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
, Gil Scott Heron, Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. She has authored over a dozen books of poetry, as well as plays and children's books...
, Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey
Broderick Steven "Steve" Harvey is an American actor, comedian, entertainer, television and radio personality and best-selling author. He is best known as the star of the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and as one of the four comedians featured in the Spike Lee film The Original Kings of Comedy...
, Cedric the Entertainer
Cedric the Entertainer
Cedric Antonio Kyles , known professionally by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American actor, comedian and director...
, Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
, Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange born October 18, 1948, is an American playwright, and poet. As a self proclaimed black feminist, much of the content of her work addresses issues relating to race and feminism....
, Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
, The Last Poets
The Last Poets
The Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread...
and many more.
Moore Black Press
Founder and CEO of Moore Black Press, Moore has released poetry by noted poets and authors Saul WilliamsSaul 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:...
and Asha Bandele, as well as three of her own books, The Words Don't Fit My Mouth (1997) and The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto (2003), and God is Not an American. (2009). She has appeared on several episodes of Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
' Def Poetry
Def Poetry
Def Poetry, also known as Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry or Def Poetry Jam, which was co-founded by Bruce George, Danny Simmons and Deborah Pointer, is an HBO television series produced by hip-hop music entrepreneur Russell Simmons. The series presents performances by established spoken word...
, has been featured in Essence
Essence (magazine)
Essence is a monthly magazine for African-American women between the ages of 18 and 49. The magazine covers fashion, lifestyle and beauty with an intimate girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone.-History:...
magazine and appeared on the television miniseries I'll Make Me A World (1999). She also served as executive producer for and hosted her own television show Spoken (2004) on the Black Family Channel
Black Family Channel
Black Family Channel was a network for African American families and the only black-owned and operated cable television network...
. In 1999, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Harvard Black Men's Forum. Her publishing house can be found online at www.mooreblackpress.com
She is the Founder of Black Women Rock! A concert, panel and workshop series dedicated to supporting and inspiring women who play rock and roll music. www.blackwomenrock.net
External links
- Jessica Care Moore on Myspace
- Books by Jessica Care Moore
- http://www.mohistory.org/education-and-events/events/2937?ctx=/calendar/2009/10/2/ Jessica Care Moore at Missouri History Museum Friday Oct 2, 2009