Please Help Us Continue to Make a Huge Difference

I was a full-time, top-tier journalist for decades (The Village Voice, DETAILS Magazine, The Sporting News, among many others) when in March of 2009, I took on a quirky hobby: hosting a bi-monthly poetry series in a vegan organic restaurant in Queens, New York.

The name of the series: The Inspired Word.

It quickly became my passion. My world. My mission: Unity through the arts.

Within a couple of months, IW became one of the most talked about series in the city - drawing as many as 65-70 people to an unlikely outer borough and featuring well-known poets and spoken word artists, including from the popular HBO Def Poetry Jam.

We were virtually, shockingly, an overnight hit.

Unfortunately, less than four months into our start, the restaurant went belly-up and we were stranded. We searched tirelessly, desperately, all over Queens but couldn't find a place we wanted to call home.

That's when we opted to go bigger: Manhattan. And we instantly found a stunning artistic space called Le Poisson Rouge, on Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. Our first event was in January 2010. We featured 20 artists and we did nothing less than pack the room. It was utterly exhilarating.

We never looked back.

Indeed, in the words of Joseph Campbell, I had found my bliss.

So, in the fall of 2011, after publishing a story on NY Giants defensive end Justin Tuck in Cigar Aficionado (read story here ), I quit journalism for good and took a leap of faith: to devote my life, my heart and soul, solely to The Inspired Word.

It's been an incredible, heart-filling adventure, and I've regretted not a single day since making that life-changing decision.

I know this for sure: We will go down in New York City history for what we've accomplished. One of the greatest-ever indie performance series.

We've changed lives. We've made a difference. Quite a few have even said that we "saved" their lives. Tons consider our series their one sanctuary. Their HOME. Pretty overwhelming.

Over the last 15-plus years, we have evolved greatly, expanding from poetry/spoken word only to music of all genres, comedy, and even magic and dancing. We've featured Nobel Prize-winning poets, Golden Globe, Obie and Tony winners, famous actors and comedians. We've done fundraisers for breast cancer, inner-city literacy, the environment, LGBTQIA+ kids at risk, Lupus. And five years ago, we graduated to the beautiful Triad Theater, one of the most iconic Off-Broadway venues in NYC - the same stage where Lady Gaga made her professional debut. The Triad has allowed me to elevate performers to the next level. To give them a taste of being a professional. Incredibly gratifying.

In early August, I celebrated my 67th birthday. We had a wonderful celebration. It was a lot to take in. My age, that is. I did a lot of thinking, a lot of soul-searching. I'm realistic. Not to be grim, but I know my time is running out. I'm not sure how much longer I can go on.

If I don't do this campaign now, then when?

There's still work to be done. Important work.

As long as I can walk and function, I want to do even greater things and make even more of a difference with The Inspired Word series.

The goals:

I want to bring on assistants with the same passion for the arts that I have - to help with event planning, curating artists, promoting on social media, and connecting with various artistic communities.

I want to pay artists more. They deserve it. Paying artists has always been a priority for us.

I want to grow our visibility with more expensive advertising, to become more dazzling with great photography.

Our motto has always been: "We've not just a series...We're a MOVEMENT."

We're true to that. We believe in the strength of an artistic community. In teamwork. In a real family of artists.

I'm hopeful. Despite all the societal struggles. That we can come together through the arts.

I want, more than anything, as Gandhi said, to be the change I want to see in this world.

Help us do that. Thank you.

Mike Geffner, InspiredWordNYC Founder/Producer/Host

https://inspiredwordnyc.com/

@InspiredWordNYC on all social media platforms