Anis Mojgani - For Those Who Can Still Ride In Airplanes - Poems / Poetry
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- To see Anis Mojgani perform live is an exercise in jaw control. It's the classic "I laughed, I cried, I was transformed" experience. Imagine the perfect artistic expression of mans timeless struggle to understand God-to make sense of this life. Then watch Anis' poetry. It's as if someone came into your dark, sleepy world of self and flung open the heavy velvet curtains to let the blinding light shine in.
Anis is one of those rare people who can talk about life in a real, accessible way. No fuss. No frills. No airy-fairy embellishments. Just BOOM! Your humanity, on stage, speaking to you. Even people who think poetry is well, lame, become transfixed by what they witness. So it's no wonder he has been the World Poetry Slam Champion as well as National Poetry Slam Champion (twice). It's also no surprise that he had so much to offer when SoulPancake recently asked him some of Life's Big Questions.
On spirituality, God, and (gulp) religion
SP: Is spirituality a trend?
AM: Sometimes I think it is. Our society is weird: Its a non-secular society that pretends its secular and is filled with a people that want the benefits of religion without recognizing religion as being something beneficial. We have all these things that supply us with what we hunger for-new clothes, tasty food, hot kicks, movies, television, music-but there are aspects of our make-up that dont get fulfilled. Weve created a society where its not even kosher or cool to discuss the emptiness, the unexplainable longing that passes in and out of all our lives. I feel that is connected to the spirit. There are these moments in all of us when we are inexplicably joyous or sorrowful, but weve boxed ourselves up so as not to talk about this as freely as we may discuss 30 Rock or Seinfeld.
Thats why spirituality becomes trendy. There is a hunger that many of us have for some divine and spiritual connection, but there is no arena to have that without committing to a religion, which a good number of us hold zero interest for. So what to do? Well, heres this thing spirituality. And it allows me to feed my soul and commune with my spirit without having to deal with the connotation of organized religion.
SP: Chanting, chakras, and chopras aside, what does being "spiritual" really mean?
AM: I believe it to refers to maintaining a connection, a communication, a relationship, with the inner mechanics of the world-the same mechanics that power us.
SP: Where does God play into all of this?
AM: God is the builder of those inner mechanics.
SP:Then why is talking about God so awkward?
AM: Cuz its abstract! We want to be right in our thoughts and our beliefs, and for many of us, the thought of discussing that could mean that we are wrong. And that would be bigger than being wrong about a math problem-its being wrong about our entire structure of being.
SP: Have you ever had a moment when you felt God?
AM: I was riding a bicycle in Savannah, Ga., and something clicked. Things made sense. The blades of grass and the size of them and how small and how big they are, and it felt like I was in the lap of something bigger than all of this. I started crying-just bawling-and then I started laughing at what a sight I must have been, crying and biking in the middle of the day, and the tears came down even more and the laughs came out even harder, and the whole time, I felt him.
SP: Do we need religion?
AM: We need a new definition of religion. I think ours is outdated? Maybe too small. I need what religion actually is, which is a way to reveal to humanity how to exist as strongly and nobly as we can-and how to maintain that.
SP: What gives 'religion' such a bad name?
AM: People.
SP: Would the world be better off without religion?
AM: Based on the results of what we have done in the name of religion, yes. But based on what I feel religion actually is and has the potential to be, no.
"i dream too much and i dont write enough
and im trying to find God everywhere. "
“He drives 45 minutes just to water flowers.”
Somehow this line softened me instantaneously and I’m tempted to take a day off work just to sit with it.
I hope you did. Or do.
I hope you ended up doing it. Powerful.
Ill never meet you and its doubtful you'll ever read this. But thanks man.
"beliefs are like naps, you leave them behind when somebody touches you" FJKL;DAJKFS;AJKLJKLFJSDLKJ SOOO GOOD
I found this thru a post on tumblr. Had to look this video up. His words are so powerful.
Makes the two of us
after it ended, i exhaled a breath i didn't even realize i was holding. this is so breathtaking honest and beautiful.
This is incredible. It makes me want to write and write until I can give someone chills..
I Cried, I Wish Everyone Was This Beautiful
anis is INCREDIBLE. this shaped me as a young person. what a gift
The amount of passion he put into this is unbelievable
I wish I could see him live. This guy is amazing, he has a way of dancing with his words and ideas that just mesmerizes me every time. I aspire to be as good as this man one day.
this poem ...i one of the most powerful things ive ever heard. thanks for doing this anis
I think about this a lot
It's for those who are still in amazement over things such as airplanes. Quinton probably thinks they're magic in someway. There is that innocence there that we lose. That's my interpretation anyways.
seeing ains live is life changing you walk out of the building with a new perspective on life his poetry moves mountians
I've watched this video three times now. This man paints with words so damn vividly. I swear, these tears are just allergies.
still one of my favorite poems!
I was listening in my car. Had to pull over.
He's like a modern-day Rumi. This is some truly inspiring work.
He's a visionary
Thank you Anis ❤
"he drives 45 minutes just to water flowers"
This is amazing. I know slam poetry is meant to be heard, but if you actually find a text of this and read along, it's beautiful.
This was my motivation for continuing my education. Put my life into perspective at a young age without anywhere to go and knowing when your time will come.
Love him so much. All his stuff is great.
This slam is amazing.
It gives me creeps each time !
Thank you Anis , I love your poetry and I’ve written several appraisals. I love your works
thank you so much
I got goosebumps watching this, beautiful.
thank you
I love Anis just wow
brilliant quality and i love this poem, awesome stuff! post more if you have them please.
love this guy!
Anis how you give me goose bumps everytime3
Your spirit blazes!!
I love this man
this is perfect
i dont believe in God, but i respect the way he speaks of him.
Anis that's a nice name. Come back produce more content I want your voice back. This poem your words effected a lot of people
Incredible every line hits so hard
'Slow down Quintin'
You dont have to touch and go
Wooooooooo. This is otherworldly.
This is bone chilling.
Inspired me to write more.
Still coming back in 2021
Saw him last night
who would dislike this?
Morons
@kasooie OMG i love him. he's amazing. i lovelovelove his canadian pride!
why is this man not world famous? :/
Amazing
thx anis...
This is amazing!
❤
i hope that the 6 dislikes to this were accidents because that was genius
wow.. somebody lay a beat down behind this cat.. never mind, this is perfect
Cool vids! Way to go!!
Beliefs are like naps, you leave them behind when somebody touches you..
For those who want to read the poem as well -
genius.com/Anis-mojgani-for-those-who-can-still-ride-in-an-airplane-for-the-first-time-aka-quentin-annotated
I'm pretty sure 26,855 views are from me...
just sayin, this poem is pretty fucking epic
sounds like watsky. must be watsky's inspiration.
he still curses in this though. I just think this more detailed, It flows more
how did he know everything i wanted to be when i was a little boy?
The title is incorrect here. It's actually "For those who can still ride in an Airplane for the first time". I hope that helps you come up with something.
the comments are turned off for “shake the dust “ by this same “poet” i wonder why? but i think i know already
Could we have the lyrics
This guy.
6 people have children who frequent residential streets apparently.
Does anyone know anything about the title? I love the poem, but I can't figure out where the title comes from.
could you send me this video? i want to give it to my english professor
Cool
Is there a book??
if you feel lucky open another link and play album leaf-always for you at the same time
so.fucking.good
Come Closer - MUST WATCH !!!!!1
Can someone explain what the title means or how it relates?
Everyone who likes this, you must look up Shane Koyczan. You won´t regret it.
this is different from the one performed on def poetry but I like it.
hi emily :)
@xNATEx916 dude, stumbleupon did the same thing to me haha, i went from suppressing to expressing myself in about 3 minutes xD
who's the one guy who disliked this?
Idk if my interpretation of this is accurate can someone help me? I'm not very keen when it comes to poetry.
You interpret it however you want, darlin'. That's the beauty of it.
+Adriana Chavez (Pandadri) In my opinion, it's about the loss of innocence and appreciation of the world around us. How materialism and superficial desires become priorities in our adult life. Anis talks often about trying to find his place in a world where success and means of happiness are already defined. He also uses Quentin to paint a conversation between a boy and a man, which further emphasizes the point that the two age groups have drifted apart. Just my thoughts but could be wrong.
What I got from it was the beauty of slowing down...not running all over the place seeking God or whatever.
Wow! Pure drivel.
a guy named Rudy Francisco has basically the same poem... I wonder who copied who?
When did art become a competition of vulgarity?
this is vulgar? I don't even know why you are interested in poetry dude...
What poetry?
TVTV VTVT you know stuff that isn't emily dickinson, or whatever dead writer you still think should be setting the standard for written and spoken word. This man is talking about vulgarity, but a manifestation of it that people living in the modern world really can't help but contend with. He is talking about navigating himself, seeing himself as human, and once again, vulgar, but seeing beauty and divinity not only in himself but in the world around him in spite of it. I apologize to your dusty, purist ears that this wasn't a poem about how a woman is like a flower, or whatever the hell it was you came here looking for.
Maybe you're right, I guess I'm more a fan of the written word. The whole "slam poetry" seems a little pretentious and takes away from the words. It's like someone is up there wanting to prove their brilliance and the words alone could (or could not) do that.
On a page, the words are just the words. It reminds me of that scene in the Michael Cimino movie starring DeNiro, "The Deer Hunter", where DeNiro holds up the bullet and says, "Stanley, see this? This is this. This ain't something else. This is this. From now on, you're on your own."
The written word is the "This is this. This ain't something else. This is this." Nothing adding to, nor taking away from it. It is what it is and that's the beauty of it.
okay, now we are striking a common ground. my interest very rarely extends into the slam scene, for the most part I find it too political, didactic and overly performative, which either takes away from the quality, or allows someone to veil the lack there of behind personality.
But for whatever reason, Anis Mojgani communicates a hummanism and an empathy that i Identify with. His language is plain, and often admittedly unimaginative, but he has that desperate exploritive urgency that I associate much more with the free verse poets, that have always been much more interesting to me.
BORINGGGGGGGG