5 Best Quotable Poet Quotes for National Poetry Month

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#eatingpoetry, #NPM15, African American poets, African-American authors, American poets, angel poems, Angels, Authors frequently mentioned on the web, Best Quotes for National Poetry Month, Best Quotes of the Year 2015, black men, Blog Lists, books, Contemporary poetry, contemporary poets, current events, essays, famous poets, famous quotations, Genius Poets, Literary Geniuses, metaphysical poets, National Poetry Month, rainbows, Tao

It looks like the Quotable Poet is in full-effect-kick-butt mode for National Poetry Month. With his big journalism push at the beginning of 2015 it didn’t seem like he was gonna cover all his author-poet bases. He did do it though with a new poem, his first interview in like forever, and a ginormous new essay series launched on the Guerrilla Decontextualization website. Check ‘em out:

1. The poem: Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao
2. The interview: Poetry Life and Times Interview with Author-Poet Aberjhani
3. The essay: Abbreviated Mind Syndrome Article 1: Accidental Poetry & Nihilistic Implosions

When you hit that interview don’t miss the news about the upcoming magazine project with light photographer Aurora Crowley. That’s gonna be awesome-hot.

SO ABOUT THOSE 5 BEST QUOTES: Our 5 Quotable Poet quotes for National Poetry Month come from all the sources just listed. Since they’re all by the Quotable Poet himself we’re identifying the source in parentheses (is that spelled right?) after the quote. Here’s to rock’n & rollin’ and hippin’ & hoppin’ all National Poetry Month long:

1.

“I sometimes dream certain poems that I never write down because I believe they belong where they found me. I have also spoken poems over waves rolling in off the ocean and then watched their translucent lines float off without writing or recording them either.” – from PLT Interview with QP

2.

“Far less than “50 shades of grey,” wielders of abbreviated minds rarely allow for even one.”–from Abbreviated Mind Syndrome Article 1: Accidental Poetry & Nihilistic Implosions

 3.

“From opposite ends of time and space
a dream and a song quietly embrace…”
–from Rainbow-Song for the Angel of Tao

 4.

“Use of an abbreviated mind is what makes the more devastatingly callous aspects of guerrilla decontextualization possible. It simultaneously magnifies the impulse to avoid accepting moral responsibility for one’s actions and reduces the inclination to view fellow human beings as simply that: fellow human beings.” –from Abbreviated Mind Syndrome Article 1: Accidental Poetry & Nihilistic Implosions

 5.

“Most of us know that we can be better than what we are and do better than what we do, and a lot of us live in ways that oblige us to at least periodically make an effort. But the work required to move up from point C to point A, or to survive the drop from A down to C and begin all over again is rarely easy.” – PLT Interview with QP

All quotes by the QP.

Post by MS/25

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Top 5 Quotable Quotes of the Year 2013

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Aberjhani, Albert Camus, angel poems, Angels, best quotes of the year 2013, book reviews, books, creatives, creativity, digital art, end of year quotes, Facebook, Flannery O’Connor, Guerrilla Decontextualizaton, Instagram, JFK, New book release, Pinterest, popular hashtags, QP Aberjhani, quotes about creativity, quotes about grace, quotes about passion, quotes about unity, Robert Frost, the quotable poet, The Year 2013, Valentine Days and Nights, Year 2013 quotes

(Montage of Instagram images with the hash tag #Aberjhani.)

The quote at number one on this countdown isn’t going to surprise too many people because it’s been trending viral since October. What has surprised some people is the no-show so far on Journey through the Power of the Rainbow. Remember that big announcement back in April? Word is the original PLANNED BOOK has been expanded because the use (legit and not legit) of quotes by QP Aberjhani on the net has continued to increase and the book needs to offer more than what’s available online. Yeah that makes sense but in the meantime…

You can overlook the delayed publication of the book when checking out everything else he’s been putting out there. The Text and Meaning Series gave nods to MLK, Albert Camus, Langston Hughes, JFK, and Robert Frost. Plus his Guerrilla Decontextualization project, and rumored works on Ms. Flannery O’Connor and a play would be more than enough to keep most writers’ keyboards clicking. It’s because he’s so prolific that different groups find different uses for his writings. Political, social, sexy, spiritual, educational, group hugs, you name it and he’s got something that fits. Some of the quotes listed in this blog have been listed before but they grew even stronger in 2013. The “Dare to love yourself” quote is still trending viral so you won’t see it here.

PLEASE CHECK IT OUT: Full accreditation here acknowledging all quotes are by QP Aberjhani with links to original posts of artwork when possible. Enjoy the top 5 countdown:

5. “Un-winged and naked, sorrow surrenders its crown to a throne called grace.” –from poem “Angel of Valentine Days and Nights published in The River of Winged Dreams. Image by Eaglemaiden on Instagram: 

4. “Now come the whispers bearing bouquets of moonbeams and sunlight tremblings.” ― Aberjhani, from “Angel of Valentine Days and Nights” in The River of Winged Dreams.  Art from Andrea Guzman shared on Pinterest.

3.  “I place my fingers upon these keys typing 2,000 dreams per minute and naked of spirit dance forth my cosmic vortex upon this crucifix called language.” This one is from “Sweet Brother Brother Daddy K” in Visions of a Skylark Dressed in Black  and was turned into amazing art by Jaanika Talts on Facebook.

 

2. “This is what our love is––a sacred pattern of unbroken unity sewn flawlessly invisible inside all other images, thoughts, smells, and sounds.” –from the poem “The Comforter on Your Bed” in The River of Winged Dreams. Image courtesy JulieKrull.com and Facebook.com/BeautifulMindfulLife.

1.    “To create art with all the PASSION in one’s soul is to live art with all the BEAUTY in one’s heart. ” from Red Room Blog. Image courtesy of You Me & Charlie :

QP post by MS/25

Translating the World of the Quotable Poet

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Aberjhani, angel poems, Black History Month, haiku poetry, Han Chinese, Hong Kong, International authors, International Poets, literary translations, microblogging, National Poetry Month, photography, poetry translations, World Poetry Day

(Sculpture of musical angel seraphs from “hkdcsh” photography blog)

Check out Google search results for translations of titles by the Quotable Poet and you get big numbers on product pages selling his books in different countries but what you don’t get are translated editions of the books themselves shifted from English to anything else.  For the man who founded of Creative Thinkers International and an author with the world’s best-selling Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance that seems kind’a odd. But that’s the way it is and anybody who knows different can comment or email and break the news to us.

But on the flip side…translated quotations, essays, poems, and articles by QP Aberjhani keep piling up on the Internet. You can find quotations from his work in everything from Arabic and French to German and Korean and some of everything else. But the spotlight at the moment is on translations for two of his angel poems: Angel of Earth Days and Seasons, and Angel of Peace. If you clicked those links you saw Han Chinese translations by Hong Kong bloggers (not to be confused with espionage hackers talked about on the news) on the Qing and Sina microblogging networks.

Screenshot of microblogger Han Chinese translation of “Angel of Earth Days and Seasons.”

There’s a big Asian tradition of writing and reading haiku so that might be why they’re into these poems right now but it could also be because the QP makes a good Black History Month subject. What’s really interesting is how different bloggers are dishing out their own translated versions instead of just re-blogging a single post. This is another one for:  Angel of Earth Days and Seasons .

PART 2 King of Pop Michael Jackson

Probably the first time anybody translated an online piece by the Quotable Poet was right after King of Pop Michael Jackson’s death when the QP posted “To Walk a Lifetime in Michael Jackson’s Moccasins.” That jam ended up in all kinds of global vernaculars, including Greek, Romanian, French, Italian, and maybe a lot more.

It don’t take much to figure out it mostly had to do with the fact that up until then not a whole lot of well-known authors were publishing positive articles about MJ. Quotable Poet Aberjhani made it personal and set a lot of records straight in the process. He kept that going through a series of articles and poems, including Work and Soul in Michael Jackson’s This Is It and Looking at the World Through Michael Jackson’s Left Eye.  Translations of these a couple of years ago were mostly in Spanish and German but they used to be around in Italian and Portuguese too.

Screenshot of Hong Kong microblogging page featuring Han Chinese translation of angel haiku poem by African-American author Aberjhani.

Post by MS/25

An Angel of Poetry Spreads Its Wings on YouTube

Tags

African American poets, angel poems, Google News, Internet news, poet of the angels, Savannah poet, the quotable poet

Still from Angel of Better Days to Come video.

 

Soon as I saw the email announcing the launch for Angel of Better Days to Come on YouTube I just knew it was going to be an authorized kick-butt spoken word production. Since this is the fourth video-poem from the Quotable Poet’s River of Winged Dreams I figured it was due. Turned out instead to be a kick-butt poetry video with ambient music vibes and head-blazing visuals.

So it hit me as an awesome-off-the-hook-good thing but still kind of odd because we know from his DANCING THROUGH THE WORD LABYRINTH CD and different podcasts (not to mention the awards) that he does spoken word. Then why (presuming he’s involved on some level) such a different approach on Notes for an Elegy in the Key of Michael,  Angel of Peace,  Angel of Christmas Love Shining Bright, and now Angel of Better Days to Come? Here’s my two-part guess…

For One… he’s got a big passion for the written word and the creatively painted canvas. This is the QP expressing that passion and sharing it. And Number Two… with spoken word, we get how the speaker of the words interprets the lines with their emotional emphasis and the whole big bang and that can block your own interpretation. (Yes I did actually hear another poet say that but it fits here so I’m borrowing it). The thing is though that for me it worked. You got the poem stanzas graffitied on the art and the entire poem right there in the notes so you end up hearing your own voice. A weird trick it was but so cool.  You can click right here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWIyLxnoCnw

by MS25

December Poem of the Month: Angel of Christmas Love Shining Bright (video poem with music, text, and photography)

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angel poems, Internet news, poet of the angels, quotes, Twenty-first Century Authors

"Angel of Christmas Love Shining Bright" from Sara L. Russell, Kimmy Van Kooten and Aberjhani.

                                                                                                 Title image for “Angel of of Christmas Love Shining Bright”.

The Quotable Poet’s “Angel of Christmas Love Shining Bright” was already a natural pick for the December 2011 poem of the month but news about the YouTube Video was an unexpected bonus. In this one we’ve got the QP Aberjhani teaming up with Creative Thinkers International peeps Sara L. Russell and Kimmy Van Kooten for a videomized version of his poem… first published on AuthorsDen, then in The Bridge of Silvers Wings, and now in The River of Winged Dreams.

The hot music on the video is New Age ambiance and the images framing the quotes are different from what some of us expected but double fresh. You can check out the video at this link and also read the whole poem posted right here:

ANGEL OF CHRISTMAS LOVE SHINING BRIGHT

I.

Sweet, this elixir
of eternity’s passion
commanding my glide.

Soft, this explosion
from alpha to omega
sizzling our names raw.

Here is the timeless
mystery that pays no heed
to death’s greedy pride.

Songs of hearts divine,
mortal, angelic, holy,
billow starlit wings.

Here are lips of flame
eager to be extinguished
by love’s liquid sigh.

II.

The ancient story
tells itself anew, dressed in
syllables of now.

Hope flexes and soars––
through eyes welcoming newborns
to earth’s green legend,

through scarred tongues singing
battlefield fare-thee-wells for
comrades gone to peace.

Addicted to bliss,
dark heaven floods the soul
bright with miracles.

Stars wishing upon
the potential of humans
shine faithfully on.

by Aberjhani
(from The River of Winged Dreams)

MS/25

October 2011 Poem of the Month: Midnight Flight of the Poetry Angels

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Aberjhani, angel poems, Delicious.com, famous poets, Internet news, poet of the angels, Poetry, quotes, Savannah author

Grid view for 14 Poets and Their Angels stack on Delicious.com.

 

Anybody who’s been keeping up with the meta-metamorphosis taking place at Delicious.com knows they’ve got a new thing going on called stacks… as in stacks of links with headers, descriptions, and images that sometimes blaze fantastic on their front page.  The image we posted here is a grid view of the subject of this blog.

One of the featured stacks on Delicious at the mo’ is called 14 Poets and Their Angels.  And guess who one of the 14 is? That’s qualifiedly correct– Quotable Poet Aberjhani is part of the mix with his poem Midnight Flight of the Poetry Angels, which starts off with a quote from Barack Obama. There’s also a stack all about him which tells me the Bright Skylark machine is working overtime to maintain the profile.  Midnight Flight of the Poetry Angels was first posted on AuthorsDen (August 22, 2008) and is published in The River of Winged Dreams. You can also check it out right here as the QP October 2011 Poem of the Month:

MIDNIGHT FLIGHT OF THE POETRY ANGELS

“It was a savage scene, and we stayed there for a long time, watching life feed on itself, the silence interrupted only by the crack of bone or the rush of wind, or the hard thump of a vulture’s wings as it strained to lift itself into the current, until it finally found the higher air and those long and graceful wings became motionless and still like the rest.”

––Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father

What once was blood streaks
your face with indigo tears
and lush midnight tunes.

Holding silver hands,
you compose a Tao of art
that heals broken wings.

Lips glow violet,
open to reveal tongues bright
with pearl metaphors.

A speckled halo
handcuffs the world’s best liars
to soft dark passions.

Music’s sweet labors
give birth to a springtime rush
of sighs rippling dreams.

Out of your mouth rhymes
blossom like warm paradigms
already in flight.

Golden, your songs,
and noble; spinning planets on
their axis of love.

On faith’s battered back
calm eyes etch prayers that cool
a nation’s hot rage.

Inside these scarred hearts
genius flows incandescent
waves of truth made real.

Hope drowned in shadows
emerges fiercely splendid––
boldly angelic.

 by Aberjhani

New Video on Michael Jackson Presented in Tribute to 100 Thousand Poets for Change

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Aberjhani, African American poets, African Americans, African-American authors, American poets, angel poems, famous poets, Internet news, Michael Jackson, modern poets, music, New Videos, poet of the angels, Poetry, quotes, Savannah author, Savannah poet

Cover art for "Notes for an Elegy in the Key of Michael 1 and 2 by Aberjhani" video featuring poems by the author, text of poem, and music.

Cover still from “Notes for an Elegy in the Key of Michael (Jackson) 1 and 2 by Aberjhani” video.

You might have noticed how I sometimes talk about the way the Quotable Poet’s Bright Skylark website seems to borrow more from this blog than I get from them. That’s mostly the way it rolls but every now and then they toss out a major sound-byte. This time around it’s the blog post In Commemoration of 100 Thousand Poets: On Elegies, Dreams, and Michael Jackson  which is about 100 Thousand Poets for Change and Aberjhani’s new video: Notes for an Elegy in the Key of Michael 1 and 2.

Since the blog’s already a done deal and you can just click the link to read it, the only thing I’ll add is that the video is along the same lines as his Angel of Peace video. The music is different but by the same artist and the images of MJ received some major art upgrade with quotes from the poem plastered right on them. My only two thousand dollar criticism is the quote is a little hard to read on a couple of the frames but the whole poem rolls in at the end and you can the video info section to read it too.

I’m guessing this blog and video launch happened because Aberjhani hooked up with 100 Hundred Poets for Change months ago and he had to deliver what he promised but otherwise I’m thinking Troy Anthony Davis’s execution would have shut down productions for a while. It’s something to think about, huh?

MS/25

Video Version of “Angel of Peace” by Aberjhani

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Aberjhani, African American poets, African-American authors, American poets, angel poems, famous poets, Google News, Internet news, modern poets, music, musician Mesje, New Age, poet of the angels, Poetry, quotes, Savannah author, Savannah poet, spirituality, Twenty-first Century Authors, videos, YouTube

From “Angel of Peace” by Aberjhani video poem with music.

 

It didn’t take long after the link for the SlideShare version of Angel of Peace got posted for a couple of emails to arrive asking why it wasn’t made into a video. Well guest what? It was, and you can check it out at this link: http://youtu.be/0Jpfe4Z1btk

The music is called “Raindrops” by a musician named Mesje. Funny thing is Mesje had a lot of songs available for downloading for free but nothing on the site about her or him. Tried buying the music on Amazon and it wasn’t there. What up wit dat? So the hunt’s on to find it someplace else. But for now this is MS25 saying thank you Mesje for putting it out there:  http://www.last.fm/music/Mesje  And hit me up with any comments or requests about the video because I would really really really really appreciate permission to use more of your music with other projects.

I’m almost caught up now on my promise to catch up with this blog. Don’t look for me to cover every single there you’ve been seeing or reading about Quotable Poet Aberjhani because apparently he’s been one busy writer and it teaming up with the 100 Thousand Poets for Change deal.  That’s reason enough to make the next blog a news point sheet or something like that. What’s it called, a fact sheet? Maybe…

Mindsurfer25

New Slideshare Presentation of “Angel of Peace” by Aberjhani (poem with text and art)

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Aberjhani, African American poets, Angel of Peace, angel poems, authors, Contemporary poetry, Facebook, famous poets, modern poets, New Slideshare Presentation, Slideshare, the quotable poet, The River of Winged Dreams, Twitter

The Quotable Poet blog started two years to throw a spotlight on different accomplished authors like Aberjhani who were not as well known as some other authors in their league. (Same deal with certain Indies.) The idea I guess took off cause now there are loads of sites that post his quotes. Some of the best ones are posted on Twitter and Facebook every other day. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop posting them here. It does mean I’m stepping up my throw-down by tossing some new deals into the mix.

First up is the new Slideshare presentation of Angel of Peace by Aberjhani (poem and text with art). Each slide is a color graphic with a section from the poem and some amazing art. Check it out at this url:

http://www.slideshare.net/MS25/angel-of-peace-by-aberjhani-poem-with-text-and-art

The text of the poem was posted separately with other notes but seem to be having trouble staying there I’m giving it to you here also:

Angel of Peace by Aberjhani
(Poem number 5 in the “Songs of the Angelic Gaze” series)

Such are these places
where lovers of bliss behold
the angel of peace:

Above the burning,
and below the cold of all
the sad killing fields;

Where poetry sighs,
smiling magic in the lap
of flesh and blood joy;

Upon the shoulders
of elders carved beautiful
by sage artistry;

Where a starbright gown
trails healing through gardens of
eternity’s laughter;

In the arms of dreams
that shepherd hope through the eyes
of praying children;

Under waterfalls
bristling silk storms from the shores
of my skin to yours;

In the taste of a woman
glowing firemilk through
the tips of her breasts;

Afloat on rhythms
of minds too stoned on love to
recall how bombs work;

At the edge of a
man’s kiss casting holy spells
of sweet compassion;

Inside the beauty
of faith’s unburied treasure
sparkling truth and hope;

Beneath trees of song
heavy with angelic light,
evergreen with strength;

Upon the wings of
nightingales trilling comfort
to embattled grace;

In your heart’s whisper,
soft as love, that truly all
is well with your soul.

by Aberjhani
(from The River of Winged Dreams)

Post by Mindsurfer25

50 Amazing Contemporary International Poets

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50 Amazing Contemporary International Poets, Aberjhani, African American poets, African-American authors, angel poems, authors, International Communities, Internet news, Mindsurfer25, multiculturalism, Savannah author, Savannah poet, the quotable poet, Twenty-first Century Authors

For those who emailed asking if I was the one who posted the List of Famous Aberjhani Quotes on Ranker the answer is as a matter of fact I did not Thank You . But if you ask if I had anything to do with the 50 Amazing Contemporary International Poets list, then we’re talking a different story because I mos def made my contribution to it.

So yeah the list is on the Rankers site but it’s not exactly a ranking as in top dog versus underdog because it’s mostly alphabetical and it’s also mostly all about sharing props with some peeps who have made poetry mean something more than just a popular word to throw around. Read their poems and you see how they paid for those lines with their lives.

Probably a hundred or even a thousand names could have gone on the list but who can afford to work that hard for free? You feelin’ me? Anyway this was one good way to give a nod to National Poetry Month so check it out please right here:
http://www.ranker.com/list/50-amazing-contemporary-international-poets/konnoisseur411?format=GRID

mindsurfer/25