anis mojgani

so i went to see my good friend Anis Mojgani last night at The Bowery Poetry Club on Bowery last night. in a word, AMAZING.

anis never ceases to amaze me, but the whole experience was one i am thankful to have had. there were slam poets of all kinds there last night -Urbana was celebrating their nine year anniversary so it was a particularly good batch i think - including poets who really just tell wonderful funny little stories, stories your best friend could tell if they had such a beautiful grasp of language and could lay it down poetically. and there were poets who threw incredible inspiring words out to the crowd and then peppered them with hilarious little bits to keep things from being too heavy handed. there were a few poets that i did not respond to, but on the whole, everyone was quite good, certainly with some standouts. i wish i could shout out the names of those that really blew me away, but sadly i didn't take notes and so the names have been lost to me until next time i see them and am reminded of their powerful voices.

anis however, blew them all away. i can't figure out what it is about anis that is so freaking wonderful. but he just fucking is. maybe it's too wonderful to really be put to paper - i'd like to think that's what it is - more likely i'm just not up to the task. in my mind, part of what makes anis such a powerful poet is a combination of a few key ingredients.

he is just fucking brilliant

he appeals to a lot of people because he is a lot of people. anis comes from a lot of different backgrounds and culture and his life experience, especially for his age, is vast. he brings all of that to the table when he performs.

he is utterly real and honest. or at least i feel he is. there is a heartbreaking honesty when anis speaks, about what makes him both sad and joyous and all the variations inbetween.

he manages to talk about important things without seeming self important and preachy. this, to a die hard sarcastic cynic depressive (me) is pretty important. the second i feel "preachiness" i tune out. i can't be bothered. but at the same time i want to feel the inspiration, so it's a fine line the difference between preaching to a crowd and just telling them in a beautiful way how you feel and somehow reminding them that it is how they feel as well.

anis manages to let everyone know that he is just on a path looking for something good and trying to do good as well. and you can come with him if you want. and i want to, desperately.

he is looking for god everywhere, and that is incredibly inspiring - even to this self-diagnosed atheist. listening to anis makes me want to find god too. and i haven't wanted that in a very long time.

i once said, and still believe, that "anis is the catalyst for every artist". you cannot be an artist anywhere within you and listen to anis and not be moved to action. i always come away from watching or being with anis want to be better. in all ways. i want to do everything bigger and better than i was doing it before. if only i could keep anis on tap, and just take a hit whenever i need a little inspiration and motivation to remind me what we all do it for. because last night, watching anis, i remembered, if only for a brief while.