Liberated Muse 3rd Show Promoting New Book Rocked the House!

So yesterday was, for lack of a better word, a "totally awesome" day!

(In Photo: Margaux Delotte-Bennett)

During this last weekend of the Artomatic, Liberated Muse held almost two-hour long show promoting the book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul. Contributors from the book-- Margaux Delotte-Bennett, Farah Lawal, Angela "Anonamas" Ballard, and Ananda Leeke--- read pieces while musical performers Quineice Clarkson, Gary Young, and Dee Stone entertained the audience musically. Renowned writer Alan King closed the show reading some original pieces. Sharon Burton, who did the cover art for the book was in the house as were many other members of the Liberated Muse network.

(In photo: Maceo Thomas, Liberated Muse Productions co-founder, selling books and cds)

It was a wonderful night.

View some of our photos from the night on our site http://www.liberatedmuse.com/ or check out our Facebook page HERE.

Join the Liberated Muse Fam @ the Artomatic on July 3rd

The celebration of the new Liberated Muse book Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul continues @ the Artomatic on Friday, July 3rd @ 8pm in Washington DC on the Solo Stage. Join us as contributors to the book, Margaux Delotte-Bennett & Ananda Leeke read pieces from the book as well as original pieces. Also, enjoy the musical stylings of Anonamas of Infinite Soul Music, Gary Young and Quineice Clarkson. A Limited Open Mic will follow. Renowned writer Alan King will also share some of his most recent writings. Come early to sign-up!

For questions, email us at LiberatedMuseProductions@gmail.com

Check out photos from our Liberated Muse weekend @ the Potter's House and the Artomatic June 19-20 by clicking HERE and HERE

Call for Visual Artists for Event "When Harlem Came to Paris"

Liberated Muse social network member, Gemini Visions and her company Authentic Contemporary Art and several co-sponsors will be partnering with Lil SoSo Productions and the Alliance Française de Washington (http://www.francedc.org/) to celebrate the influence of African Americans in France with the multi-media arts event: When Harlem Came to Paris, Saturday, February 28, 2009 in Washington, DC. This event celebrates the rich history and culture of Black American writers, artists and musicians who came to Paris from the 1920s and 1930s, the period often referred to as the Harlem Renaissance. The event will be held at the Alliance Française de Washington and will feature food, music and performances by local musicians, actors, and actresses in character, depicting the sounds and personalities of the era. A Silent Charity Art Auction will be held simultaneously during the event. This will be the second year that LiL SoSo and the Alliance will be co-sponsoring this event.

Entry Guidelines & Requirements

Authentic Contemporary Art will provide coordination of the visual art aspect of the event.Each artwork submitted must represent the artist’s interpretation of the influence of African American culture on the visual art, music, literary or social scene in Paris during the 1920s/1930s. The work may be abstract or representational.Themes may include:African influences on art and culture of ParisCafé scenes of Paris in the 1920s and 1930sNightclub and Entertainment of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s

Visit HERE to get more information. Visit Authentic Contemporary Art's founder's page on Liberated Muse HERE (you have to sign up for FREE to be part of the network in order to view this page)

New Book Anthology--Liberated Muse Volume I: How I Freed My Soul--Due Out Spring 2009

Liberated Muse Productions (LMP), the marketing and arts events promoting group has ventured into the book arena. With a roster of productions that includes the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest and the social networking site http://www.liberatedmuse.com/, LMP looks forward to the new anthology providing an artistic outlet for writers and visual artists and an opportunity to reach a wider reading audience.

The call for submissions is still active, with deadline for submissions falling on December 31, 2008. For details on how to submit your work, visit the anthology's site with criteria by clicking HERE.

The anthology will be reviewed by renowned writers, including prolific poet Taalam Acey. Acey, who has performed all over the world and released numerous books and CDs of his work, released his book Troubled Soul Refinery in 2007. The book is a 340 page collection of Acey's poems from 1998-2007.

According to his bio on CD Baby , "Taalam Acey may be the hardest working spoken word artist of his generation. He's published a novel, an award winning memoir and 9 spoken word CDs. Taalam has been a full time traveling poet for 7 years.

Taalam's work has been featured on BET and in Essence Magazine. He has been a frequent guest at dozens of colleges and Universities and has lectured on contemporary spoken word at the prestigious Graduate School of Education at UC Berkeley. Acey has twice been featured at the Essence Music Festival. In addition, Acey's work has been associated with films that have garnered an Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Some Words from Liberated Muse Productions Co-Founder Maceo Thomas-- Head Citizen

Wow!!!

This has been an incredible week. I feel personally responsible for getting Barack Hussein Obama elected President of the United States of America. I have been accepting congratulations from leaders around the world. And I have been offering congratulations to those around the world. When MSNBC called the state of Pennsylvania for Obama, I saw the culmination of months and years of hard work by many come to a new beginning.

Many of you have asked me if I "worked" for this campaign. I do. My title has been "Head Citizen". The responsibilities are immense; the primary one being defined as "participation"; and the privileges are awesome, too many to name here. The great part of this organizational structure is that I had the opportunity to directly collaborate with other department heads. There was no pass through. Direct contact, planning and action.

I walked the streets of Columbus with other head citizens, I sent emails from head citizens out to other head citizens. I spent a great deal of time talking to some head citizens on the phone who I have known for decades, as well as sitting in coffee shops with other head citizens I had just met. I read and stayed inform through articles and blogs written by brilliant head citizens. I supported fundraisers organized by everyday head citizens. I spent the last day of the campaign with a my 16 year old cousin Christian, another Head Citizen, who actively campaigned for a political campaign for the first time to help support his neighbor Head Citizens efforts to GOTV (Get Out To Vote). Head Citizenship has never been so exciting.

I will continue in this role for the indefintite future. The Obama campaign has been a great training program to beef up skills on the role of Head Citizen. The political camapign is completed. The governing phase is developing, however the role of Head Citizen never stops. The role of Head Citizen requires that we continue to support the rest of the department heads in working to make this organization - oh, it's abbreviated as the USA, a subsidiary of the WORLD - productive, viable and just for each and every department. Use your power!!
I just would like to thank all those who have helped contribute to my training and experience in this role in no particular order:

1. James and Margaret Thomas (dec.) for making sure my Dad and Aunt Marjorie pioneeringly (I think I made this up) integrated their schools to provide generations greater opportunities.

2. PG County Schools - where I picked up some crucial critical analysis skills for the majority part of my work in my Head Citizen role.

3. John F Kennedy, Sargent Shriver and Frank Williams for developing the organization Peace Corps which helped me understand firsthand the elements of our role of Head Citizen by contrasting it with the limited roles of citizens in other parts of the world.

4. William and Brenda Thomas for supporting the gifts and talents of their third child by letting me explore always.

5. Nadirah, Daya, Jason, Nzinga, Takeyah, Maura, Kim Morton, Adam Barr, Catherine Poff,and those whose names I have forgotten - other Head Citizens I walked the streets with out of town.

6. Dwayne Kennedy, my first political candidate (6th grade president) and a chief strategist from the beginning of this presidential campaign and an updater on Va poll numbers for the last six months- thanks for the guarantee on Va.

7. Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X (dec.) - previous Head Citizens who exemplified the role.

8. Zachary and Justyne - new fresh Head Citizens that encourage me to make this role better for them.

9. East of the River for letting me plug Obama in so many pieces.

10. Ubi, who listened a lot.

11, My entire Peace Corps and public health family - Head Citizens extraordinaire.

12. The CHOICE Program for providing a job experience that showed the importance of the role of Head Citizen by opening my eyes, on the ground, of the inequities that other department heads face.

13. Khadijah Ali-Coleman for taking a vision and putting the Capital Hip Hop Soul Fest together as a big plug for Obama...oh and some music too.

14. All my facebook friends.

15. The First Tuesdays crowd.

15. All who are reading this for doing your part. I'll see you at the office.

Maceo

Head Citizen since 1971