| Gerrard W. Allen a.k.a. G. G. graduted from Eastern Michigan University in the Spring of 2005 with a double major in African-American Studies and Communications & Theater Arts. During his performance career, G. has shared the stage with The Last Poets, Jessica Care Moore and Maya Angelou. He is the original creator of The Color of Drums Performance Play at Eastern Michigan University. And he is the Author of Gorgeous, which was self-published and released in Nov. 2005. |
| Who's your favorite poet? My Favorite poet is Elsie Swannn, author of Swimming Against the Current State of Mind. Her work is so honest and revealing, and still creative and real. Her artistry with words are a mixture of both funk and beauty if you haven’t read her book I definitely suggest you get a copy. Much love and respect also to Adoara Bandele (Cheri Luster) author of “Peel Back the Skin” and Roshani Adhikary author “The Desi Experience.” |
| What do you like about Tru Essence Poetry Night? What I like about Tru Essence is that it feels like a “Poetry Family.” There are no egos within the core so it allows all of us to learn and support each other constantly. And definitely the founder Jamal Gibson is the center of making all the poets that enter the door feel welcome. His natural ability to be selfless has developed a humble vibe that makes poets feel like they have a home at Tru Essence. |
| What drew you to poetry? A girl actually got me into writing poems seriously. She got on punishment and asked me to respond to a poem she wrote because she couldn’t have boy phone calls and I been writing ever since. |
| How long have you been writing? I’ve been writing creatively since I was six. I used to say 12 (because of what I stated above) but my sister found some of my projects from the first grade when I had more of an imagination and less responsibility. |
| What inspires you? What inspires me is having the ability to change a generation with spoken word and written poetry. |
| What kind of poems do you write? I write all kind of poems. Sometimes I tell stories, sometimes I’m political, sometimes religious, sometimes sexual, sometimes humorous, sometimes thought provoking. I try to open up my range as much as possible so it doesn’t feel like I’m always writing the same poem. |
| What do you want people to know about you? I want people to know that I am never satisfied so you can always expect something new and fresh from me. |
| What do you want people to know about your poetry? To be honest, if my poetry doesn’t speak for itself I’m not doing my job. I would hate to spend all that time composing a poem and no one understands what I’m talking about. It would defeat the purpose. |
| Have you written any books? Any recordings? I wrote and self-published my first book in 2005 it’s a collection of poems about women called Gorgeous. I also recorded on a compilation CD with the Poetry Society of EMU in 2005 called “Ill-Writtens” |
G. hosts |
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