Write About Now @wanpoetry reported a video of Ebony Stewart’s poem.
Keep in mind Amir Safi and his company Write About Now do not own it!
Ebony Stewart’s response:
[IS THIS YALLS KING]
What does it mean when everyone else can share their work from a platform that only exists and profits from the use of other people's work, but I can't?
What is the problem that the founder of Write About Now has with me specifically?
What does it mean that Amir Safi doesn’t want my poetry (which is also my livelihood) to be seen, shared, or praised?
Those of you who started following Write About Now years ago and use to see me host and slam all the time... You never wondered why you all of a sudden stopped seeing me all together?
How many female hosts has Write About Now gone through since me?
How many Black womxn does it take to fill one Ebony Stewart's shoes?
Do yall only consider abuse to be physical violence such as r*pe & sexual assault?
What do you consider harm?
What happens to "communities" ran by a man (or men) who abuse their power and their victims never say anything?
What happens when a man or men or your abuser brings you further harm and tries to erase you?
Who protects the survivors and how do all the wordsmiths, activist, and guardians of poetry do that?
Does your king listen to you? Value you? Or are you just a pawn?
Warning: Be leary of a man who mankeeps, lack integrity, and builds on the backs of Black people & womxn, but is always the one who'll claim they have been done wrong.
Proof Amir Safi is out of line:
[...PEOPLE WILL JUS HATE TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY, UNTIL ALL YO KINFOLK IS GONE]
The poem MONDAYS is from back in 2016 when Write About Now accompanied and worked with me at MY show for MY family in Baytown, TX. So to record, profit off of my work and likeness (which I never asked to get paid for or received money from OR charged Write About Now my rate to do anything - EVER), give me "permission" (after 4 or 5yrs) to use my work (they profited or gained numbers from), then site me for copyright infringement in 2026 is harmful wild work.
I have ALWAYS been about community and what is best for the community. I try and explain individualism all the time in this community. A lot of poets don't wanna pick a side because you fear you will be blocked or your work will be deleted and existence erased. So you support the platform as a way to get something from it and bootleg your work by downloading it or screen recording it, because an organization says your work is there's for as long as they get to make money off of you. For as long as it doesn't affect their income. And for however long they wanna hold a goofy grudge against you.
I know a lot of poets wanna go viral so bad and will go about it by any means necessary. Even if it means barely getting paid or properly acknowledged.
Ultimately, you just want your work out in the world with the hopes it'll get you more work. Me too. But I actually give and do for the community. So how does it make sense they stopped sharing my work, still have it on their platform, but I can't post it?
Do I just remain their property?
What is the content they own exactly?