Tantra-zawadi's Page

(Photo credit:  Jay Franco)

I was born in Bedford Stuyvesant and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York in a family of girls. My parents are southern folk; dad was born in Mississippi and mom in South Carolina.  Although I have traveled many places in the world, there's no place like Brooklyn!

As a young girl, I fell in love with “But He Was Cool, or he even stopped for green lights,” a poem by Haki Madhubuti, and later the works of poets such as Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, S. Pearl Sharp, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Maya Angelou, June Jordan and Gil Scott-Heron. I marveled at the way they painted social consciousness through writing and how badly my soul longed to hear it.  As a child of the Black Power movement, I began to write because I wanted to capture my experiences creatively and with purpose. Those were important times; on the heels of the civil rights movement, socially conscious poetry, the Vietnam War and the contagious swell of black pride.

I remember reciting for the first time at an open mic in the late nineties. I went to a reading at the Demu Café in Brooklyn where Poets Brotha Mike Young and Kayo Charles were hosting a reading. I loved the energy, the artistry, the peace, the people and the power of words.

From there, I continued to bless open mics locally and in the tri-state area (the Brooklyn Moon Cafe, the Brooklyn Tea Party, the Nuyorican Poet’s Café and the Bowery Poetry Club). I kept writing and went on to host my own spoken word series “WORDSPACE” at Satta Art Gallery then joined spoken word trios such as Precious Gift with Fisiwe and Epiphany, and Elemental Soul with Fisiwe and Chuma Whahid Rasul, (publisher of my first book of poetry “alifepoeminprogress” - Chuma Spirit Books).  I dedicated this book to Brotha Mike Young (now a beloved ancestor), for his soulful beauty, encouragement and support. Most of the poems in “alifepoeminprogress” were from my early years of writing and a significant period of rebirth that followed.

Along the way, I was given the name Tantra-zawadi by two beloved friends. Tantra is a Sanskrit word that embodies the expansion of consciousness and Zawadi is “gift” in Swahili – hence an ever expanding gift of consciousness. My name is a beautiful reminder of vision and focus on the art of “living.”

Thanks to producers like Q-Rock639 and Jonny Montana (who recorded my first house music productions), a natural progression from the stage to the recording studio, has opened a new chapter for me with some of the most in-demand house music producers in the world.  This excites me because I have been an active supporter of house music for many years and it gives me tremendous pleasure to share my work with the global house/dance community.

The highlight of my life, without a doubt is motherhood.  I have two incredible sons and so much in this blessed life to be thankful for. From my one-woman shows “Girl-A Choreospective” and “Soldier Blues,” to my short documentaries "Girl-The Film" and “A Silent Genocide: A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS,” my poems have taken me around the world, into classrooms and poetry venues with the privilege of meeting some of the most exciting people in the world.

Hope to meet you in my travels!

Always peace and love,
Tantra-zawadi

Tantra-zawadi best describes her work as "the love that I make through my art to the vision of the unseen reality." Soulful and sublime, her poetry explores love in all its forms; from the rush of the first kiss to the bittersweet. As a performance poet and published author, Tantra uses her voice to support the rights of women through creative expression.

Tantra has performed to standing-room audiences at venues as far away as South Africa, London, Germany and Toronto as well as venues closer to home in the tri-state area. She has performed original works in the off-Broadway productions of Stolen Dreams, Girl – A Choreospective, A Night of Three God/desses: Soldier Blues and Powerful Women, An Evolution in Reinvention, the Numeral Three, Leaving My Apartment and Other Urban Adventures and projects with the vonduvoisdancecollective. Tantra's recent appearances include The Senegal-America Project-Daniel Sorano National Theatre (Dakar), The American Museum of Natural History, Hand-in-Hand-for Haiti, New York Public Library of Performance Arts at Lincoln Center, Badilisha Poetry X-Change Festival (Cape Town, South Africa), Austin International Poetry Festival, Greenfield Poetry Festival, Hand-In-Hand for Haiti,  and the Montserrat Poetry Festival. Tantra is also a recipient of the Kings County District Attorney's Office Award for Women’s History Month for her artistic contributions to the borough of Brooklyn.  Tantra's poem "Girl" was nominated in consideration for the 2010 Pushcart Prize. 

Published Author: Tantra’s latest release, “Gathered at Her Sky” from Poets Wear Prada Publishing, is available at Amazon and LULU.com (June 2010). Tantra, a mentor for Girl-Child Network Worldwide (GCN), will donate partial proceeds from Gathered at Her Sky to GCN. Tantra is also the author of “alifepoeminprogress” by Chuma Spirit Books, and her poetry was featured in Essence and SpokenVizions Magazine and anthologies such as Poetically Spoken and the 19th Annual Austin International Poetry Festival and the Brownstone Poets 2012 Poetry Anthology.

On Screen: Tantra-zawadi has made several appearances on cable television, local and satellite radio shows. Known for being on the cutting edge as an artist and for speaking out about issues such as HIV and AIDS awareness, Tantra’s poem and video “Scarlet Waters,” was featured on the Product(RED) video wall created by U2’s Bono and Bobby Shriver, to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Her short documentaries are:  "Girl-The Film" and “A Silent Genocide ~ A Brief Insight into HIV/AIDS” edited by Oliver Covrett.  Tantra also participated in a public service announcement for BETAH Associates produced by Marc Herbert Productions aimed at promoting HIV/AIDS awareness. Tantra’s videos and films may be viewed on-line @ www.youtube.com/tantrazawadi.
Directory of Poets & Writers: http://www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi

Music and Poetry: Tantra-zawadi is a member of Collective Spirits along with Jonny Montana, Bennett Holland, Neil Maclean and Dana A. Byrd.   She is also a contributing artist on compilations such as the award winning Liberation Sessions: Soul of the City CD by Mwalim, 2 Shades of Deep EP by Deep Xcape and Dolls Combers, Summerbreeze EP by Dolls Combers, Poetic Stimulus by Atlanta Red, EARTHOLOGY, by Floyd Boykin, Jr., Soundz Out of Africa by DJ Spice T - Umbo Recordings, Afro Land Volume I by Uno Mas Digital Recordings,  Out of the Blue by Gene King (Shines Records), DJ Groove Assassin on "Love Seeker" (Gotta Keep Faith Records), Nastee Nev’s Secrets of Life and SoulAGENDA's Don't Let Go (Do It Now Recordings).  Be on the look out for upcoming releases:  The Love Planet Album (Collective Spirits for Do It Now Recordings), Change All Over Me (DJ IndySoul for Shines Records),  We Are The Stars (DJ IndySoul for GKF Records), Gifts of Love (Deeperholic for Spiced Music), A Song for Us (Giorgio Bassetti for UMBO Records), It's All Love (Steve Paradise for Uno Mas Digital Recordings) and Only Love (Monocles and Slezz for Foliage Records).

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www.tantra-zawadi.com

www.pw.org/content/tantra_zawadi

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