AyoFalomo.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx The name's Ayokunle (most call me Ayo though) Falomo. I tell stories, and sometimes (only sometimes!), the words rhyme. Using my pen as a shovel, I dig deep into the soil of our souls to unearth those things that make us HUMAN. More about me here: http://about.me/afalomo xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[afalomo]

2018, STILL - A Year in Review

2018, STILL – A Year in Review

As in:

shhh… take a deep breath, Ayo;

As in:

“but there’s more work to be done”, as in I’m still a work in progress;

As in:

a shot from a movie; as in: my life is a movie & I be fighting God for the Director role sometimes; as in: he’s still working on me.

If you’ve been following the blog the past few years, you’re familiar with this tradition of reviewing the current year and announcing the…

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[afalomo]

2017 in Review: A Year of Blooming

2017 has been quite the year!!! I made a lot of noise. I’m hoping 2018 will be a lot more quiet though.

This year:

I released kin.DREAD, my second book, into the world – a 200+ pg book that’s essentially a memoir interspersed with poems, reflections and stories told through the lens of kinship & dread. I am thankful that more than 100 people have a copy of the book since it’s been out in May.

Mo…

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[afalomo]

from my 💙 to your 👂 - enjoy @ afalomo.bandcamp.com / happy valentine's day, y'all. #mysongislove

[afalomo]

Often, the narratives of black immigrants are left out of the talk on immigration in the United States. Join us this Sunday as we host #DiasporicDiction with @SlamNewOrleans and @Noirlinians featuring African immigrants @LoyceG and Ayokunle Falomo sharing their poetic perspectives. via @mwendersinsuspenders, who will be hosting and sharing new work she wrote this summer and her past trip to Kenya. (at Ashé Cac)

[afalomo]

a self-portrait of the artist upon his arrival in (and return to...few days short of... a year later) The Big Easy. #kinDREADBookTour continues. (at New Orleans, Louisiana)

[afalomo]

The #kinDREADBookTour continues... My weekend looks like me doing some poems at @samdigspoems's house on Saturday and then on Sunday, more poems for #DiasporicDiction (put together by the folks at @noirlinians & @slamneworleans) alongside @loyceg. If you're in the area, come say hi. (at New Orleans, Louisiana)

[afalomo]

And the devil said let us make him sick. Yeah, let us make of his throat a sheath placed in a vault for all the wrong reasons. And the devil said let us drink ourselves into a forget so deep that we don't remember that we threw the key into the middle of the ocean. And the Lord said: Satan you is a liar! Yeah, the Lord said: his voice will always find a way out. Watch, my boy gon' wield his voice like a sword for the work must still be done! Which is to say: This is where i will be tonight, even if my voice gives out! You should try and be too. (at St. Paul's Houston)

[afalomo]

And, of course, the journey continues. Next stop for the #kinDREADBookTour is New Orleans.

[afalomo]

What's DREAD when you got your kin? // 2nd stop of #kinDREADBookTour was a success, especially cos I had the support of these guys. & to see many of my friends in the audience was beautiful!!! // Also, thank you so so much @miccheckpoetry for having me. Glad to be home. (at Revolution Cafe and Bar)

[afalomo]

Thanks for this, @MicCheckPoetry. See you Bryan/CStat folks soon!!! Revolution Cafe & Bar // 8:30 pm. // #kinDREADBookTour

[afalomo]

Forever indebted to the folks at @wanpoetry for finding a home for my words. Click the link in their Instagram profile to watch the latest poem they've shared that's mine - an alive so colorful! <---- or just go ahead and type that in the Tube of You. // #Repost: ・・・ "This art of living, this art of living with your whole heart is still a work in progress." - Ayokunle Falomo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Check out this video posted on our YouTube Channel (wanpoetry). Click the link in our Instagram profile to watch now! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #houston #htx #htown #spokenword #poem #poet #poetry #poetryslam #slampoetry #slam #houstonpoetry #houstonpoetryslam

[afalomo]

As shared earlier today: "There is no need to wait for a so called better day. We can start now. There is no need to wait for somebody else to take up the baton. It can very well be you. It can very well be me. You do not need to wait until you are 'qualified' so to say. All that is required, to paraphrase Dr. King is that you have a heart that is willing to serve." I ended the speech with the following words from Dr. King, from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, as a reminder of the urgency of the task before us --- "I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, 'wait' but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly in tiptoe stance, never knowing what to expect next and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments...then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait." #MLKDay // 📷 : @thelaurencamacho (at CHI St Luke's Health-Sugar Land Hospital)

[afalomo]

Today, I have been taxed with the incredible responsibility to, in my own words, honor the legacy of Dr. King. In about an hour or so, I will be reading a poem and will deliver a speech -- both inspired by my visit to the MLK Jr National Historic Site in August of last year -- @ St. Luke's Sugarland Hospital. Thanks for this enormous opportunity, @thelaurencamacho. // 📷: @eastdownandbrown

[afalomo]

I can't say thank you enough, @laredoborderslam. Beautiful venue. Beautiful people. Thank you for the outpour of love. Thank you for arms and heart wide open to receive my joy and fears. Thank you for the joy you, in the way you made me feel like home, have added to my life. I woke up with joy bright enough to light up an entire village. Thanks! Couldn't have asked for a better or another way to kick off #kinDREADBookTour. All I have in return is thanks! (at Gallery 201)

[afalomo]

En route to Laredo to kick off the #kinDREADBookTour. But first, a brief stop in San Antonio... & then, this beautiful combination of light and color caught my eye. (at San Antonio, Texas)

[afalomo]

Hey people of the gram. Here's a flashback of sorts. Earlier this week, I did a thing - created a Facebook page. If you have a min, please go like the page - facebook.com/MrAFalomo - to follow my adventures.

[afalomo]

Starting the #kinDREADBookTour with Laredo and College Station // Check for more dates and cities @ www.kinDREADbook.com/tour See you on the road soon!