Thrill over the poetry and artwork of Anis Mojgani
Here’s my confession...I’ve never been one for idolizing celebrities, but writers and poets? Really good writers and poets leave me awestruck. I am a writer. I love writing and I am finally at a place in my life where I can acknowledge that I have some skill in it. But there are some who are on a whole different level than I am, who leave me completely speechless by their words.
And Anis is one of those.
The first time Bryan and I met Anis I was a nervous wreck. I hadn’t actually read his books at that point, but I had seen a number of his spoken word videos. Here are four of them if you want to check out a little sampling:
Shake the Dust
Collection of poems @ TEDxAtlanta
Introduction to Pocketknife
Equal Parts Science and Magic
I was completely in awe and, of course, tried to hide it. Haha.
We met Anis randomly through his now ex-wife, who is a friend of Bryan’s from high school days. The random thing is that we have stayed in touch with Anis more than with Bryan’s old friend over the years.
That is owed largely to Anis’ compassion. I think there is something about the hard things in life that bond people. Our hard has been different than his, but heartache recognizes heartache. Early on in Bryan’s diagnosis, Anis sent Bryan a package of records, for no other reason than that they had bonded over music and he thought Bryan would like them in that difficult season. Sometimes it’s the little acts, the small steps of generosity and kindness that create little lines of connection between people.
I was nervous when I reached out to Anis about this auction. I still feel a little intimidated by his skill, and I felt like it was a big ask for someone who has lots of things pulling at his attention and time. But, as always, Anis was incredibly gracious and jumped on board right away.
Anis is donating a copy of his book The Pocketknife Bible as well as two letter pressed postcards of excerpts from his book In the Pockets of Small Gods.
Friends, if you aren’t familiar with Anis’s work, I recommend checking him out. Bid on this item, or if you don’t get it, visit Write Bloody Publishing to buy any of his five books.
