Explore & Enjoy // Art & Culture
Spoken Word
LaShaun Phoenix Kotaran
As a spoken-word/Slam poet and host, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to share stages with The Last Poets, Saul Williams, Jamaal May, Mos Def, The Roots, Khary Kimani Turner, Jessica care Moore and many other national and local artists. I coached the 2004 and 2006 Detroit National Poetry Slam Team and was the five-year host of the ByteThis Poetry Series. I sat on the Executive Council for Poetry Slam, Incorporated and served as the Event Coordinator of Women of the World Poetry Slam. In 2018, I coached the Detroit Youth Poetry Slam Team (currently competing in Brave New Voices).
My favorite thing about spoken word in Southeast Michigan is how incredibly diverse the artists and audiences are. I’ve been able to experience all kinds of poetry by many different kinds of people, which enriches the experience overall.
1
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit - Woodward Avenue, Detroit MI
This venue hosts a lot of visual arts events, but it has been extremely great to the spoken word community as a venue to produce shows/events
2
They Say
They Say - Joseph Campau Avenue, Detroit MI
On Thursday nights they host one of the best poetry events called Open Mind Mic Series where poets, comedians and musicians congregate for a great evening of poetry/art.
3
1001 Woodward Avenue
1001 Woodward Avenue - Detroit, MI 48226 USA
The mission of Science Gallery is to act as a collider of art and science, and to engage 15-25-year-olds in connective, participative, and surprising ways. They do this by combining emerging research and ideas from the worlds of art, science, design, and technology. They’ve hosted a couple of really great poetry events in this space
4
First United Methodist Church
First United Methodist Church - West 7th Street, Royal Oak MI
Quarterly, Pastor Jeff Nelson with the help of La Shaun Phoenix Moore hosts a poetry event that fuses the love of God and the love of all kinds of art together. The work and the artists are diverse and includes the LGBTQIA community as well.
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