Aisha Zorelle Raison
Aisha Raison-spoken word artist, photographer and
producer-has recited poetry all through the south since 1997. Starting off in Memphis at the Firehouse on October 24, 1997,
she emerged as a developing writer with a curiosity for making the audience...well, comfortable. On April 9, 1998, Aisha created
Afrodeesiack Press in order to publish on her own and help others as well. Her first chapbook "Afrodeesiack:African-American
Erotic Poetry" set the stage for her as an erotic writer, helping her emerge on the scene not only as a poet, but as an independent
woman who wasn't afraid to open her mouth and say what she wanted. With her feminist image and her sexual words, she won and
toured several southern poetry slams and readings, including the 1998 and 1999 Southern Fried Poetry Slam. In 1999, she and
several other established Memphis poets created Animated Souls, where the poets did plays such as "Day in the Life" and "Suspended
in Animation". She later moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and worked with several other poetry groups and winning placement
on the Winston-Salem Slam Team in 2000 and 2001. Aisha created "Eclectic Thoughts" in 2000, the chapbook that said goodbye
to the sexual creature and hello to the feminist slash mother slash human. Her most recent work, entitled "Ghetto Anthems...and
other beats to dance to",introduces the audience to a wider spectrum of her experiences, thoughts, and characters most women
have found themselves playing at one time in their lives. Aisha had the opportunity to introduce the chapbook during Venus
Envy in Memphis and at Broads Off Broad in Winston-Salem in 2002. She was also one half of Wordsicians of Winston, which gave
a performance in dedication to June Jordan and on the behalf of breast cancer awareness. She was given the opportunity to
perform "Eulogy of a Suicide Victim (to jane)" for the domestic violence prevention play "Weep No More". She also
introduced her first album "on
the corner of 7th and trade" during the National Theatre Festival in August of 2003 while wowing the spoken word crowds at
the Midnight Poetry Slam in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She also Introduced another
poetry book,-this time an anthology of her work-"Classified Information" to Broads Off Broad/Whistling Women that following
Fall.
Aisha now runs Epifani 9 Productions out of Dallas, where she resides with her son, Matthew. Aisha performs in coffee shops and college stages, retelling stories that influence and inspire
those that have yet to have a voice.
Her-story:
The Firehouse, Memphis, 1997-1998, performance poet (First Performance October
24, 1997)
Master Bakers,Memphis, 1997-1998, performance poet, Slam Poet
P & H Cafe, Memphis, 1997-1999, performance poet, Slam Poet
Precious Cargo, Memphis, 1998-1999, performance poet
Sidewalk University, 1998-1999, performance poet and organizer
Memphis Black Writers Conference, Memphis, 1998-1999, performance poet
Cooper-Young Arts Festival, Memphis, 1998, performance poet
Animated Souls, 1999, performance poet
Java Cabana, 1998-2002, performance poet, Slam Poet
Morning Dew Coffeehouse, 1999-2002, Slam Poet
Memphis State University, 1999, performance poet
Wake Forest University,1999, performance poet
SECCA/Montage Ensemble, 2002, performance poet
Broads Off Broad, 2002-2003, performance poet
Venus Envy (Memphis, TN), 2002, performance poet
Wordsicians of Winston, 2002, performance poet and organizer
North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, 2001, performance poet
National Black Theatre Festival, 2003, Performance Poet
Forsyth County Public Library, December 2000, performance poet
Southern Fried Poetry Slam:
Memphis Slam Team, 1998-1999
Winston-Salem Slam Team, 2000-2001
CAT-TV:
Off the Hook, 2000-2003
Bill Jackson Show, 2000-2001
NPR :
Performance of "Sugar" in dedication to Nina Simone, April 20, 2004
Clear Channel Radio:
Talk Show Host and Producer of TheTthought XChange on V101.1 FM, November 5, 2005
Talk Show Host of "The Afternoon Fun Show" on AM 1070 WDIA, July, 2006
Publications:
Afrodeesiack:African-American Erotic Poetry, 1998, Afrodeesiack Press
Eclectic Thoughts, 2000, Afrodeesiack Press
Ghetto Anthems...and other beats to dance to, 2002, Afrodeesiack Press
The Memphis Poetry Slam 40 oz., May 1998 (Magazine Publication)
Domicile:July, September 2003, May 2004 (Magazine Publication)
Burnt 2, 2001 (Magazine Publication)
Winston-Salem Journal, September 25, 2003 (Newspaper Publication)
Winston-Salem Chronicle, October 2, 2003 (Newspaper Publication)
Associated Press, August 8, 2003 (Newspaper Publication, Radio Wire)
Libertad, Spring 2002 (Newspaper Publication)
Commercial Appeal, January 6, 1998 (Newspaper Publication)
Greenville News, June 24, 1998 (Newspaper Publication)
The Memphian, 2006, Staff Writer(Newspaper Publication)
Plays:
Animated Souls:
Day in the Life, 1999
Suspended in Animation, 1999
The Urban Verbal Mechanic Production:
Who We Am: A Black Collective, 2000
Montage Company Players:
Weep No More, 2002
|