Readers Pick Poet and Spoken Word Artist for 2006

Readers select well-known poet, scholar, and author as winner in 2006 "Best of" Poll.

Savannah, GA (PRWEB) May 27, 2006 –– Often celebrated as much for his stirring fiction and creative nonfiction as for his boldly visionary poetry, author-poet Aberjhani won the coveted 2006 Connect Savannah Magazine “Best of Savannah Readers’ Poll for Best Poet/Spoken Word Artist.”

Winners of the poll were announced in the May 17, 2006, edition of the weekly Connect Savannhah news and Entertainment Magazine. The win marks the second major honor the author has garnered in 2006: his "Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance" (co-authored by Sandra L. West) was listed in Black Issues Book Review Magazine among its essential reference titles for the home library.

“This is a big surprise for me because my book, 'I Made My Boy Out of Poetry,' has become something like an underground classic and can be hard to find in bookstores in Savannah,” said Aberjhani. “I guess people have been ordering it off the Internet and reading the poems that were published in Essence Magazine, or maybe checking out the work posted on my web sites. “That’s great to know because I get a lot of positive feedback from people all over the world and it would be a very sad kind of irony if all of them were able to appreciate my work but the people in my own hometown were not.”

The Connect Savannah special “Best of Savannah” edition identifies dozens of the city’s favorite personalities, events, and establishments in various categories. Among many others, recognition also went to veteran jazz musician Ben Tucker as the best jazz artist; both the Third Infantry Division and the city’s Mayor Otis Johnson as the best heroes; and Yancy & The Breakneck Quartet as the best hip hop group.

Although voted the Best Poet/Spoken Word Artist, Aberjhani acknowledges that much of his literary focus in 2006 has been on journalism and creative nonfiction works. These have included his groundbreaking article, “A Legacy Less Traveled,” on a major reinterpretation of slavery project underway in Savannah. A second article focused on the life of the African-American World War II veteran John Morrison, one of the few surviving members of the historic 388th Battalion/Engineer General Service Regiment. In addition, the author completed a full-length manuscript of creative nonfiction.

"Journalism and poetry have always been twin literary passions of mine,” said the author. “Poetry allows us more flexibility in terms of freedom of expression but journalism, for me, balances that out with concrete insight on events in the world. I appreciate this particular poetry award, though, because I always think of myself as a student of poetry and I’m always challenging myself to grow as a literary artist to earn the right to the name Poet.

“Having said that, I am more than thrilled to remind lovers of the spoken word that I’ve been phenomenally blessed to work on a CD project with two truly gifted artists: New Jersey’s own resident ‘goddess,’ Ms. Nordette Adams, and Texas’ resident futuristic vibe-griot producer Mark Rockeymoore. We’re putting finishing touches on that and pushing for a summer release.”

Aberjhani's work is also currently featured in the June 2006 online ezine, "Poetry, Life, and Times," and on the Black Poetry Society web site, both of which are based in Great Britain.

In addition, he conducted a spoken word and poetry workshop as part of Savannah's Spitfire Poetry Group's Second Annual Spoken Word Festival, held May 26-28, 2006. The Spitfire Poetry Group has won much acclaim for its cultural community activism. Clinton Powell, who co-founded the group with the poet known as RenaZance, won the 2005 Best of Savannah Readers’ Poll for Best Poet and Spoken Word artist.

For more information, please visit the "Bright Skylark Literary Productions" web site at http://www.aberjhani.com, or the Black Skylark Z-Ped Music Player" at http://www.authorsden.com/Aberjhani .

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