The Return of Megan K. McGuire

Samurai Megan K. McGuire graced the crowd with her spellbinding presence this last week, where she read several poems by the late poet Adrienne Rich, who passed away in March of this year. She also read some of her original work, which included this rhythm piece- Apolitical

Wait - Adrienne Rich

In paradise every
the desert wind is rising
third thought
in hell there are no thoughts
is of earth
sand screams against your government
issued tent hell’s noise
in your nostrils crawl
into your ear-shell
wrap yourself in no-thought
wait no place for the little lyric
wedding-ring glint the reason why
on earth
they never told you

~*~*~*

Apolitical - Megan K. McGuire


If we continue down this path
Make the mistakes
we threaten
to- We're doomed.

You heard me. This is the
Slippery slope the
Road to hell
Disaster
how can we teach
This leave this to our
Children?

We owe it to them
Ourselves to stop
This heresy this injustice
Cannot stand

Cannot stand our rights
Our lies our way of life
Is at stake!

Is this
What you want?
Are you angry
Yet? Who are these clowns
These idiots who think
They can take what is ours?

We must defend ourselves!
Do you hear me?
We must defend
Our biggest fears
Will be
Realized. They are Greedy.
Realized. They are Corrupt.
Realized. They are un-natural
Unreal unlike us

Don't
wait,
do not
stop

March! Fight! Protest!
Pick up the phone and give!
Vote!
Vote for the person you want
voting for you

Don't let them ruin
The world. Watch out
For those who
Claim to
Speak the truth!

Just one more thing to
Decide.
Who the hell are "THEY".?


To see her work performed, check out the first half of the May 21st show on our Ustream Channel.

Who let the Rogues out?

So yesterday was a good day.
Not only did our show raise the bar on excellence, I had a personal milestone yesterday.
My fantasy novel, Rogues of the Black Fury, hit the streets.
Who let the Rogues out?
I did.
That's right, a kick-ass fantasy story that can be encapsulated as Navy SEALS vs. Al-Qaeda in a Renaissance-style fantasy setting.
A link to the Kindle edition is below, but it is also available in trade paperback and all e-reader formats.


“Bold, colorful characters pull the reader into an unforgettable adventure with the perfect mix of suspense, intrigue, and action.” —Jeanne Cavelos, author of The Passing of the Techno-mages 

“Rogues of the Black Fury mixes a berserk action thriller sharp as a mercenary’s sword with hard-bitten fantasy so gritty it might scour your bones clean by the time you’re done.” —Matt Forbeck, author of The Amortals and Carpathia

Samurai Dave Speaks!

For our April 30th show, we had two milestones.  First, we debuted at a brand new venue.  Thanks to the Slowdown for the opportunity to branch out and grow this thing we've made.  Second, we hit a record amount in donations to our cause.  Our local NPR affiliate of choice took home just over $500, or enough to keep them on the air for 4 hours.  Prior to the show, our own Dave Nesbit gave a radio interview with KIOS.  We're so proud!  He was up early, and even using big words!

You can listen to it here.  http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kios/ppr/kios.m3u

Homemade Fusion

Samurai Megan McGuire is featured tomorrow night in 'Homemade Fusion' with the Candy Project at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Come on over and listen to a crazy bunch of singers rant about masturbation, stalkers and candy bar love. It's free- voluntary donations to the Playhouse accepted. Part of the 21 and Over performance series.

For more information, please visit their website:  http://www.thecandyproject.com/

The Samurai Perform at Dreaming, Sat May 5th

We so crazy! In just 3 days, the Samurai of Spoken Word take the stage at Dreaming. This time to raise money for St. Monica's House.

St. Monica’s is a behavioral health treatment organization dedicated to serving women. They accept women age 13 and over, who are diagnosed with substance abuse and/or co-existing mental health issues. Fees are assessed on a sliding scale, based on the income of a client, her ability to pay, and availability of funding.

See the show at 5:30pm, Saturday the 5th at 712 S 16th Street, Omaha, NE. 

An Appology to Our Fans

Dear Fans,

There was an mistake last night (4/30/2012) and we want to make sure that some great poets get credit for the works that were covered.
Rives - "Dirty Talk"
Anis Mojgani - "Shake The Dust"
Mike McGee - "I like You"
Shane Koyczan - 'This is My Voice' Remix

In the heat of great poetry we missed the proper mention, and we apologize.

Thanks for coming out and supporting poetry, storytelling, and whatever it is that Dave does.

~The Samurai 

 *Edit:  Ryan Lacy, as a result of the backlash of his performance on April 30th, has chosen to step down from the Samurai of Spoken Word troupe.

Experience the Samurai

Parenthood, the Samurai's pet cause, is holding a fundraiser in on Sunday, May 19th called "Are You Experienced?".  The event starts at 6:00 PM in the Orpheum Theater lobby, with tickets starting at $100.  This includes drinks, a buffet, and open seating.  All of the above, plus reserved seating and an after-party is available for $150 per seat.  Both levels include cocktails and silent auction.

Dave, our PR guy, reached out to Planned Parenthood and asked if we could somehow be involved to help raise money for the cause.  The theme of the night is experiences, but somewhat more, well, reserved than many of our live shows.  Keeping in mind that we need to keep anything we have to offer legal, we the Samurai, brainstormed a few ideas for what we had to offer.

You will find the following examples of experiences available to bid on during the auction:

Internet Famous, The Early Years

Somewhere along the way, we got noticed by a guy with a pen.  Well, keyboard, I suppose.  Mike Machian with Hear Nebraska sat down with several of the Samurai to interview, eavesdrop, and photograph for an upcoming story.  Despite being an upstart collection of artists of all genres, mediums, and experience, Mike breathes life into the recent past, present, and hopeful future of the rag tag group known as the Samurai of Spoken Word.  We'd like to thank Mike for his time, warm words, and fantastic photographs from our events.  We look forward to working with him in the future.

For your reading pleasure, here is the article in question.
http://hearnebraska.org/content/samurai-spoken-word-feature-story