ballpoint w/ bluapple Poetry Network

Season five of our ballpoint with bluapple poetry podcast's candid conversations features Cypress Bay High School's very own Raiya Shaw club member of the Lightning Poets Society and the 2022 Word Up Champion.    Here we discuss poetry (of course), wise words from Raiya on the passing of the torch for the next generation. 

Introducing a new guest for the start of season 5 is Neysa King! Neysa is a published author from the book "Rainbow Body". After being published in multiple scholastics in Texas, Neysa recently moved to Miami and co-founded a community known as Miami Poetry Club.  Ever since, King has been building a safe space for adults to learn and grow with each other.

Brandon Vega, the author of Ghetto Conscious: Evolution of a Rebel sat down with Just John to discuss his journey as an artist. There were many parallel lines drawn as these two talk about their experience as an athlete turned poet.

Shawntee Herring bluapple's Program Director sits down 1on1 with Just John to discuss the "New Normal" of our program and what the new year will look like! Join us as we breakdown the steps needed to produce a great poetry club and points to recreate a safe space! Here on ballpoint we go beyond the surface to provide insight on our crafts. Hope  you enjoy!

 The School board of Broward County's Equity & Diversity program joined us on a podcast in Ms. Manoushka Saintil and Mr. David Watkins.  Just John dives into his experience with the bluapple Poetry network as well as being a pulse in our community of students provides some insight to what he expects from the school board of Broward county as an advocate for these students.   Join us as we talk about our community and wrap around services provided to keep our students safe and off the streets.

Nyah Terrilyn, an alumni of our Bluapple Poetry community is now a degree-seeking sophomore journalism major at Howard University. She is an on-air personality on her school's radio station and a current writing fellow with the Washington Independent Review of Books. She is also an award winning spoken word poet, nationally recognized by the National Young Arts Foundation and the U.S Presidential Scholar in the Arts. In conjunction with the nonprofit ArtPrevailsProject created by Mr. Darius Daughtry, Nyah works in her community performing at events such as plays, poetry open mics etc inspiring others to be a voice! She also acts as the co-host for the ArtPrevailsProject Podcast which you can find a link to in their bio @ArtPrevailsProject on instagram or go to Artprevailsproject.org

South Florida's Youth Poet Laurette winner and #LTABFLA 2021 Indy Finals champion is celebrating national poetry month with a series of wins and highs as she circles through her journey as a spoken word artist and soon to be published poet.

#LTABFLA 2021 Behind the scenes (ep5) "After LTABFLA hosted by: Just John  As our 30 day poetry festival comes to a wrap, tune in to find out who our 2021 winners are as well as how the work persists after the competition. Thank you all for listening and staying engaged continue to like, subscribe and tune in to our next segments! Song Prod. Ouuupapi

Behind the scenes look of LTABFLA (ep4) #LTABFLA is Inspired by the poetry festival hosted and created by the Young Chicago Authors, LTABFLA is the largest youth poetry festival in the state, featuring hundreds of youth poets from nearly 30 different schools from Homestead up to Jacksonville, all competing for the championship title! Now, with more than 200 poets representing 25 schools have participated in this year's #LTABFLA competition and now it's time for Finals Week! The winning teams from each of the four semifinals bouts have advanced to the StevenDouglas Team Finals as well as the top remaining 11 poets to Indy finals! Yes that's right, 11! This year we changed up the rules a bit so catch this latest episode as Just John talks all about Indy finals layout to who's competing for the title!

More than 200 poets representing over 25 schools have participated in this year's #LTABFLA competition and now that the semifinal have concluded, it's time for Finals Week! The winning teams from each of the four semifinals bouts have advanced to the StevenDouglas Team Finals, but which poets have advanced to Indy Finals?   In this special episode, Jason Taylor Foundation Executive Director, Seth Levit and JTF VP of Operations, Sean Todd, AKA DJ Prec, reveal the names of the top 11 scoring poets from the entire festival. These 11 individuals will compete for the Indy Title on Friday, April 16. 

THE POINT IS NOT THE POINTS THE POINT IS THE ______ (POETRY) This episode we give a look at what it feels like for students and educators to strategize on who and what poems are selected to compete in the next round of #LTABFLA 2021.  The #LTABFLA Semi-Finals kicks off April 10th @ 10am - 9pm Stay up to date with our latest episodes for exclusive releases and updates on our competition! YouTube: @JTFoundation IG: @bluapplePoetry Tw: @bluapplePoetry

Behind the scenes look of LTABFLA (ep2) #LTABFLA is Inspired by the poetry festival hosted and created by the Young Chicago Authors, LTABFLA is the largest youth poetry festival in the state, featuring hundreds of youth poets from nearly 30 different schools from Homestead up to Jacksonville, all competing for the championship title!   This episode highlights poets in the community who have made an impact on the festival so far as well as some upcoming events. 

Inspired by the poetry festival hosted and created by the Young Chicago Authors, LTABFLA is the largest youth poetry festival in the state, featuring hundreds of youth poets from nearly 30 different schools from Homestead up to Jacksonville, all competing for the championship title!   Check out our 30 day festival now on social media @bluapplePoetry or follow the hashtag #LTABFLA

Lyrical Marie is a graduate student from the illustrious FAMUniversity  and is an advocate in Tallahassee for the organization "Dream Defenders".  BLK P.O.W.E.R. = People Oppressed Will Eventually Rebel (Riot) Check out her brand and listen to our podcast episode to see how see plans on changing the world! 

Veronica Mentor  Veronica Mentor alumni of Boca high school poetry club as well as the bluapple Poetry Network features on the new episode of @bluapplesballpoint Season 3 episode 7! Veronica has some initiatives she is working on including traveling to Africa.  Find out everything else she's been through on the link above! Hope you enjoy!  

Za'garyiah AKA Smiley Sunshine from Blanche Ely High School joins us on a new episode of Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast.  Smiley has been writing poetry since she was in middle school and all started performing from a speech her teacher pushed her to do in class. Sounds pretty interesting at least we know great stories tell themselves. Find out more on the episode! Enjoy!

Parker Barry is our JTF and bluapple Poetry Network alumni after winning the 2020 Louder Than a Bomb Individual Finals and the Spirit of the Slam award. We are proud of the moments shared in such a short year and switching virtually she was able to become more of a voice in our community.    We are proud to present to you all, Ms. Parker Barry from Wellington High School on the steps she took to design the building blocks to her success. 

Peter Lange is a poet, creative, playwright and actor from South Florida. Peter is soon to graduate out of Florida Gulf Coast University and since then has been cultivating his talents to produce art on a wider, larger scale.   Peter not only writes poetry, growing up amongst the S.P.E.A.K. collective, but he also writes and directs plays for thespians.    Peter enjoys drawing and creating visual art to express his interest in his ancestry.   Sitting down with Peter was refreshing, I hope during this time you can figure out what drives you to reach the bottom of the bottle.    @bLUAPPLESBALLPOINT @bLUAPPLEPOETRY HOST: @JUSTJOHNIG GUEST: @HELLOMRLANGE

This week's episode of Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast features the 2020 South Florida Youth Poet Laurette Anna Bayuk. Anna has been apart of Jason Taylor Foundation and the bluapple Poetry Network community since her freshman year at Marjory Douglas high school, winning Louder than a Bomb (LTAB) team finals in 2019. As SF Youth Poet Laureate, Anna will work with the Jason Taylor Foundation and Urban Word to help foster community and social awareness through her poetry. Tune in to Anna's Venus of the Swamp book release July 1st at 5pm   

Vassell Visuals is an amazing photographer/videographer specializing in sports photography. She plans on recruiting a team of her own athletes to then become their personalized picture taker.   Action shots are what she loves to take because they can "capture a moment in time"   I loved sitting down with Indya, a good friend of mine from Miramar High on this one!   Enjoy!

Dive into the mind of a winner, Taylor Gensolin an alumni of the Cypress Bay Lightning Strikes poetry team. She was award the South Florida Youth Poet Laurette award in 2019 and published her first ever body of work entitled "Non Compos Mentis" which means "nincompoop".    Find out more about are bluapple's very own special poet here! Also, support her as she enters to win the National YPL this Saturday, May 16th at 7pm! Congrats on your success Taylor.

Courtesy of Kobe Bryant's "Dear Basketball" poem Rest in Power to a legend, one who changed my mentality forever and introduced me to the Mamba Mentality.   What will YOUR legacy look like?   @JustJohnIG

Check out Episode 4 of the 2nd SEA2ON of Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast   This week we are talking with JT and Hart 2/?? members of Rare Value   They dissect art and the serendipity behind their creative processes, while diving into meditation and self care. Check it out now on all streaming platforms!   @HartinAction @5CottiePippen Hosted by: @JustJohnIG

Check out this week's episode of Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast featuring the talented Visual Artist illSurge. Surge has painted murals for Wynwood during ArtBasel and has worked with organizations like the Miami Dolphins. You can follow him and his work on IG: @illSurge Or check out his website at illsurge.com   SEA2ON 2 EPISODE 3 "The Grind" ft. illSurge

SEA2ON 2 Episode 2 of Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast Featuring the young and influential poet/singer/songwriter Savannah Cristina @Savannah.Cristina Check out this episode to hear more about the Journey of the branding and creation of Broward County's finest artist as she breaks down the creative process, to the origins of each piece.  Faded EP, Mango SZN, Florida Boy (Single), Florida Girl out NOW! On all Platforms Just John's favorites: Worth it, Soul Ties, Rebound, Self Care

Ballpoint with bluapple Poetry Podcast Hosted by : @JustJohnIG   SEA2ON 2 Episode 1 featuring Ms. Bull, an articulate artsy and awesome grad from University of Indiana and is now serving as a teaching artist for the bluapple Poetry Network and Jason Taylor Foundation. Enjoy! Subscribe and check out our podcast episodes on all platforms! Visit us on instagram @bluapplesBallpoint

@JUSTJOHNIG Breaks down the Art of Storytelling through poetry and spoken word with StormThePoet

Ballpoint with bluapple Hosted by Just John... ft. Christopher Mazzara IG: _Mazzara_   Enjoy !

Melody is a former member of C.O.R.E with bluapple Melody and Jordan shared their insight on what it means to be a leader and serve as part of your community and organization(s). Just John encourages all students to step out of their box and work towards becoming a leader. Our co-host Epiphany offers workshops for the summer of 2019 tailored on just that.  Follow us on social media for more info @bluapplesballpoint

Just John sits with Broward's finest producer Hush Forte and discusses authenticity and vulnerability through the arts of music, poetry, and sports.    "Ardor" out now on all platforms and podcast background music: 1.) Mango Sweet 2.) Fila Sweatpants 3.) Humid as Hell   Florida Boy Poem accredited to Epiphany    Enjoy!

Epiphany and Marnino sit down with Miami Northwestern's Poetry Club to talk about the benefit of poetry and how it helps our communities converse and share stories.

Spoken word has been known for its intimacy. The call and response between the speaker and the audience is one of the most intimate interactions seen in art. Epiphany, Marnino, and Lola elaborate & give their opinions on that. From Lil Wayne to Mona Lisa, intimacy is in the eye of the beholder.