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Congratulations to this year's VERVE Grant Recipients!

MARIA ISA PEREZ. Born to Newyorican parents and raised on St. Paul's west side, Maria Isa has been holding the mic since she was a little chica. At the age of five she started her performing arts education at El Arco Iris Center for the Arts in St. Paul, learning Afro-Puerto Rican and Latino folkloric art through music, song, and dance. In 2002, she and other advanced members at El Arco Iris formed the group, "Raices" to continue their mission in informing audiences about their roots through traditional dances of Bomba and Plena. Growing up around the sounds of classic salsa, jazz, soul r&b, and experiencing the sounds of hip-hop through each genre of music, Maria Isa wanted a part of the sceneMaria Isa is known for her activism as she portrays quotes of Puerto Rican Nationalist Lolita Lebron. Many believe Maria Isa to be a young woman with the rays of revolutionizing the next generations of singer/mc's. At just 18 years old, this mamita is tearin' it up.

SOL TESTIMONY (aka Lisa Roberts). Since her first stage performance in 1999, Minnesota Music Award Nominee Sol Testimony has been featured at many local and national venues. She has graced the stage at venues including the Dakota jazz club with the great Debbie Duncan, the Quest with The Last Poet’s, the Loft’s Equilibrium series, Paisley Park, and First Avenue. Sol has also brought her powerful messages to many other stages in the Twin Cities area and beyond. Her dynamic performance combined with her entrancing stage presence captures audiences as she broaches topics including the continuing struggle for equality, artistic responsibility and sexuality. She is also an accomplished host / MC who is currently presenting the Soul Sounds Open Mic in northeast Minneapolis. Sol has also brought her unique and welcoming hosting style to open mics such as Jazzmine’s ‘Passion’ open mic, The Poet’s Groove at the Blue Nile, The People’s Open Mic and the Love Lounge at The Lounge. In 2004 Sol Testimony self published her first book of poetry entitled, “The Revolution of Love and Eroticism” that has been widely accepted and praised in the spoken word community. She is in the process of completing her first CD, which is slated to be available in the Fall of 2007. Sol Testimony was also nominated for a Minnesota Music Academy Award in the Spoken Word Artist category for 2006 and is the recipient of a 2006 VERVE Grant from the Jerome Foundation.

CAREI F. THOMAS has been associated for a number of years with the music, literary, visual arts, dance, recovery, neighborhood and Buddhist communities of the Twin Cities. He is known throughout the arts community for his spiritual energy, interdisciplinary vision and creativity. Carleton Macy, Music Professor at Macalester College, said, “Thomas’ compositions are unusual and multi-faceted; they encompass an historic range of musical styles, expressing social and personal experiences and observations. Carei brings with him an infectious sense of community and unity of purpose which is likewise communicated in his music.”

2005 VERVE Grant Recipients

SARAH AGATON HOWES originates from the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Nation and Nagachiwanong (Fond du Lac). Sarah recently moved back to the Rez from her hiatus in Minneapolis as an Urban Indian. She spent the last three years doing youth organizing on anti-racism, education reform, leadership development and Indian Uprising Native poet nights. Currently, she is organizing a Native spoken word event in Duluth, training on anti-racism and digging in her garden. Sarah believes in the “Native Pride Nation Wide” t-shirt movement and the curative power of pow wow sweat.

SHA CAGE is a Twin Cities based multidisciplinary artist. Presently, she is the Managing Director of MaMa mOsAiC, a female of color theater company whose mission is to create and present socially conscious theatrical works representative and inclusive of women of color and the diversity of their experiences. With KFAI radio, she is co-producer of an annual spoken word series, Words Will Heal The Wound: A Celebration of Community Through Poetry, in honor of National Poetry Month. Shá is Executive Development Director of The MN Spoken Word Association (MNSWA) and Operations Director of Trú Rúts Endeavors. In addition to acting, producing with MaMa mOsAiC, and organizing with MN Spoken Word Association, Shá is a poet, film producer, and painter.

IBRAHIM KABA: A Maninka born in Kankan, the capital city of the ancient Mandin Empire but now part of Guinea, Ibrahim “Ibé” Kaba grew up between Koindu, Sierra Leone; Evanston, IL; and St. Cloud, MN. Although his mailing address is in Eagan, MN, Ibé lives in what he calls “The Middle of the Atlantic,” and from there he uses poetry to tell the story of Africans in America. Ibé is the founder of Atlanticrock.com, a Web site designed to showcase and teach the world about Africans in America. A member of the Minnesota Spoken Word Association, Ibé is a 2004 Minnesota Academy Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word. Since he first got on the stage in 2003, Ibé has been performing spoken word for audiences in many venues around the Twin Cities including Jazzmine’s, Intermedia Arts, Barnes and Noble bookstores and the Communiversity monthly lecture series, Hamline University, William Mitchell School of Law, St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, MN and the Nuyorican Poet’s Café in New York.

EMMANUEL ORTIZ is a third-generation Chicano/Puerto Rican/Irish American community organizer and spoken word poet residing in Minneapolis, MN. Emmanuel is a founding member of the Latina/o writers/Poets collective Palabristas: Latin@ Word Slingers. He is the author of a chapbook of poems, The Word is a Machete: Post-Pocho/Puerto Rican Poems of the Personal and Political, winner of the 2003 Bookstore of the Americas Book of the Year Award. He is currently working on his second self-published chapbook, Brown unLike Me: Poems From the Second Layer of Skin, due out this year. He has also co-edited and contributed to Under What Bandera? Anti-War ofrendas from Minnesota y Califas, a collection of poems against war by Latina/o poets in Minnesota and Southern California (Calaca Press, 2004). He has shared the stage with such poets as Miguel Algarín, Jimmy Santiago Baca, Olga A. Garcia and Amalia Ortiz. Emmanuel is working with writer/activist Aurora Levins-Morales (author of Remedios and Medicine Stories) to co-edit an anthology of writings by U.S.-based Puerto Ricans living outside the New York area and entitled OtheRicans: Voices from the greater Puetro Rican Diaspora. In his spare time, Emmanuel enjoys guacamole, futbol and naps.

RODRIGO SANCHEZ-CHAVARRIA is a spoken word poet of Peruvian heritage heavily involved with Palabristas, local Latino poets collective and Con Safos Radio at Hamline University. A recent graduate from the University of Minnesota and an advocate to Latinos in manufactured home parks through APAC. He writes about the duality of two cultures in English, Spangles and Spanish as well as issues pertaining to his community and life experiences. He is currently, working on a spoken word CD with collaboration of other local poets and MC's.

Previous VERVE Grant Recipients

Multidisciplinary artist, e.g.BAILEY (2003) is an actor, spoken word artist, filmmaker, playwright and producer. Born in Saclepea, Liberia, he has lived in the United States since 1979. Bailey co-founded and co-produced Write On RaDio!, an award-winning weekly literary radio program on KFAI Fresh Air Radio. He co-wrote and co-produced Blues for Nina, a poetic interpretation of the life and music of Nina Simone, and produces Words Will Heal the Wound: a celebration of community through poetry. Bailey travels internationally and has lectured at several schools and universities and has been a teaching artist, trainer, and consultant.

DESDAMONA (2004) is a spoken word warrior who has distinguished herself with her potent poetry and MC-style rhymes. Performing her poetry since 1997, Desdamona has been on some of the most prestigious stages for poetry in the country; including the legendary Green Mill in Chicago, the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York, The Five Spot in Philadelphia and the National Poetry Slam Competition. She was a member of the 2000 SlamMN! Poetry Slam Team, the spoken word and music collective The Poet Tree, and in 2002 was one of four female poets who performed throughout California on the Bustin’ Out Tour. In 2003 Desdamona was invited to perform on the Jenny Jones Show to an audience of young women, a show that has been aired several times in the last year. Desdamona received the Minnesota Music Award for Best Spoken Word Artist in 2000, 2003, and again in 2004. In 2003 she was a featured performer and workshop teacher at GirlFest Hawaii, a 10 day festival to raise domestic abuse awareness held in Honolulu. With a grandmother who is an award-winning poet, and a story-telling father, Desdamona learned the power of both the written and spoken word at an early age. She now looks to share, discover and cultivate that love of poetry in young artists. Desdamona often teaches workshops in schools, at Stillwater Prison’s In the Belly program, and is now going into her fourth year of producing the Encyclopedia of Hip Hop Evolution, a quarterly series at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. A frequent face in the spoken words scene, Desdamona curates and hosts poetry events and is featured in The City Aloud, a documentary on the Minneapolis poetry scene. Desdamona is currently promoting her first full-length solo CD entitled The Ledge, and is working with Intermedia Arts on a ‘Women in Hip Hop Conference’ for summer, 2005.

DIVINEWORDS (2002)

CYNTHIA FRENCH (2003)

REBECCA FROST (2004) has created performances which fuse movement, character, writing and political analysis all her life. She is best known to Twin Cities’ audiences as a co-founder of the potent and radical Women’s Performance Project, which brought improvisational personal healing to the concert stage through dance, story, voice and ritual, from 1990 - 94. Recent projects include performing as part of Wendy Morris’ CEPRO: an interactive dance/video about the future of the Cepro Grain Elevator site along the Midtown Greenway, presented at Intermedia Arts, and creating Rice Moon, for the Revolutionary Women’s Cabaret at the Center for Independent Artists. Rebecca has given spoken word readings at many venues, including Amazon Bookstore, Hungry Mind Bookstore, Kieran’s Irish Pub Poetry Slam, and SASE: The Write Place. In the fall of 2003, Rebecca was selected for the Writer-to-Writer mentorship through SASE. Her written work has been published in several anthologies, a broadside, professional journals and newsletters.

FRANK SENTWALI GARDNER (2004) can be heard every Friday from noon-1pm on 89.9 KMOJ as co-host of the Urban Griots radio program. A spoken word fusion radio program that specializes in conscious and inspiring music and poetry. You can catch Edupo every second Saturday of the month at the Dinkytowner Cafe’, and you can purchase the Patriotic Duty CD at Borders Books downtown Minneapolis and in the Midway in Saint Paul.

REGGIE HARRIS (2004)

ED BOK LEE's (2002) first book of poetry and prose was chosen by New Rivers Press and will be published in fall 2005. His various work has appeared in such journals and anthologies as Arts & Letters: Journal of Contemporary Culture, Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2003-2004, Manoa, Mizna, and Take Ten II (Vintage Books). He would like to thank SASE and the Jerome Foundation for their generous support.

SISTER MIMI (2002)

NAZIRAH (2002)

JULIANA PEGUES (2003)

MARY JO PEHL (2003) is a regular contributor to Minnesota Monthly, and her writing has also appeared in such publications as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Austin Monthly, and Catholic Digest. Her work has also appeared in several anthologies, including Life's A Stitch: The Best of Contemporary Women's Humor, and Travelers' Tales: The Thong Also Rises. She also regularly appears as a storyteller and monologist on local stages. In addition, her commentaries have aired on NPR’s All Things Considered and Weekend America, and on KUT in Austin, Texas.

MATTHEW RUCKER (2004) is a spoken word performance poet, slam poet and visual artist. He has performed his poetry on television, radio, and at venues throughout the Twin Cities and across the U.S. He has authored four books, recorded spoken word CD, and puppies make him smile. Matthew has won or placed in numerous poetry slams and was a member of the Minneapolis team for the 2003 and 2004 Midwest Slam Leagues. Matthew would someday like to rule the world, but will settle for making a living through his art, for now.

CHRISTOPHER SHILLOCK (2003) grew up in South America and Europe, where his parents served in the U.S. Foreign Service. During the 1980s, he was active in Communist and Anarchist groups in the Twin Cities before deciding that the creative act itself is an act of revolution. Starting in 2000, with the production of The Streets of Minneapolis as a web TV show, he was struck by the creative powers that computers and the internet place right on an artist's desktop. The artist used his Verve grant to complete his multimedia project, An Invitation to the Terrorist's Ball, designed to explore and showcase that power and also to present the video book in Mexico. Christopher is currently working with singer/composer Tabatha Predovich and their band to release a CD of spoken word and songs to accompany his next book, Invisible Jazz. His MySpace page is www.myspace.com/velvetrat.