I hope everyone had a very, very Happy Father’s Day!! The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of traveling and speaking. From...
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Extra, extra!! Here is where you’ll find the latest news and updates on J. Ivy and the Dear Father Letters Movement. Please spread the word to anyone that you think might be helpful in fulfilling our cause or in need of healing through our cause. And for all of you truly inquisitive folks out there, we have more in depth materials to help you in your quest for knowledge in our media section.
Counterpoint 110 – Art is a Life Saver
Tune into the interview J. Ivy recently did with Emmy Award Winner, Gerrard McClendon, on his show Counterpoint. Fun times talking with a great man–a special...
LivSTRONG | J. Kwest featuring J. Ivy
Life is filled with temptation and pitfalls, but when my guy J. Kwest, an incredible MC and Pastor from Chicago, reached out and asked me...
Every Day Is Mother’s Day
Thank you to everyone that sent in your beautiful videos and images. This project couldn’t have been a success without YOU! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, EVERY...
J. Ivy Featured on Rolling Out
J. Ivy, founder of the Dear Father Letters Movement made national news again. Munson Steed of rolling out took time out to discuss J’s move to the west...
“Wings” A Book Concert Visual
Watch as J. Ivy gears up for the release of the Dear Father Audio Book and album titled, My Daddy’s Records. Just in time for National Poetry Month, the next Dear...
Calling ALL Mothers… A Brother NEEDS your help!!
Every Day Is Mother’s Day!! “Every day I celebrate you, because your love has no limit, no blemish. I celebrate your natural willingness to care...
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J. Ivy is a Grammy-award winning poet, author and the Chicago native is even down with Kanye West. However, he has a new mission in life with this recently-released book, “Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain.” As we celebrate, or abhor, our fathers, lets take time to dive past the surface of cheesy card, underwear and a measly Sunday. J. Ivy speaks his truth about Black fathers, the history of self-hate and how the healing commences with simple letters to dad.
MommyNoire: Tell us about your book and the movement that goes with it.
J. Ivy: My latest book is called “Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain,” which started out as a poem that I wrote called “Dear Father.” The poem, this letter, was written in attempt to free myself of a lot of pain I experienced from my father not being in my life for over 10 years. We had a chance to reconnect but a year and a half later he passed away. I was hurting bad, fell into a deep depression, and was unable to find the balance needed to move forward, but through the Power of Forgiveness and the gift of poetry I was able to relieve my spirit of that hurt and imbalance. As hard as it was to get it out, once I reached that point I could feel the weight of those emotions lift off of me. I felt free.
– Read more here.
And now, for something completely different.
I recently had the amazing opportunity to speak on a publishing panel at the Anguilla Lit Fest, a low-key but talent-packed celebration of the writing craft and the writing life, surrounded by “tranquility wrapped in blue,” as our island hosts so aptly put it.
The event kicked off with a talk and reading by Grammy Award–winning performance poet J. Ivy, who had the crowd on their feet for not one but a series of standing ovations. (Let’s just say I was glad I didn’t have to give my presentation next! “Tough act to follow” would be an understatement.) Most writing events, as this one did, feature a combination of instructional sessions and inspirational talks. But the energy J. Ivy brought to the stage was part motivational speech, part hip-hop artistry, part … well, something unique to J. Ivy. He talked about finding his voice through writing as he climbed from a childhood being raised by his mother after his alcoholic father fled in an economically depressed Chicago neighborhood, to a young adulthood becoming known as “The Poet” on his university campus, to a dream career where he got his big break on Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry. The name of the poem he performed there? “I Need To Write.”
Read more here.
The Good Book says life and death is in the power of the tongue, but in J. Ivy’s book, the power is in the pen. Hailed as “Hip Hop’s Favorite Poet,” the Grammy Award-winning spoken word artist from Chicago didn’t fully begin to take the world by storm until he put pen to paper, pain to poetry and released the perfect storm of hurt, anger, confusion and misplaced love brewing in his spirit over the complicated relationship with his father. What began as a letter transformed into a critically-acclaimed poem,”Dear Father,” and his words have, literally, taken him all over the world. But, the greatest destination he’s seen yet (and don’t get it twisted – he’s been to some DOPE places) is a place called Forgiveness.Read more here.
CHICAGO–The day before Fathers’ Day, J.Ivy, the Grammy Award-winning performance poet and author encouraged people to join the Dear Father Letter Writing Campaign June 20. “If you don’t deal with your emotions, one day, your emotions will deal with you,” said J. Ivy. who hosted “The Dear Dad Dialogue.”
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iTunes single available at: https:
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150 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2800
Chicago, IL 60601
312-216-5169 office
708-769-1768 cell
312-523-2001 fax
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wynona Redmond 708-769-1768
Wynona@wyn-win.com
Phyllis D. Banks 312-933-8396
Phyllis@wyn-win.com
AWARD WINNING POET J. IVY KICKS OFF BOOK TOUR WITH
THE “DEAR FATHER BOOK CONCERT,” JAN. 25, AT THE DUSABLE MUSEUM
CHICAGO – Jan. 19, 2015 – Poetry, passion and raw human emotion will explode on stage when award‐winning performance poet J. Ivy presents the Dear Father Book Concert – a provocative performance of his poems, stories and real‐life testament, set against a backdrop of live music, motivation, and inspiration, Sunday, Jan. 25, at The DuSable Museum of African‐American History, 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show begins at 7 p.m. For tickets, visit www.J‐Ivy.com.
Creating a new genre of performance art – the book concert – The Dear Father Book Concert will feature J. Ivy as he presents prose and writings from his much‐anticipated memoir Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain, scheduled for release Jan. 27, from publisher Beyond Words.
The book takes its title from his poem “Dear Father,” which was a personal letter of forgiveness to his father to help heal the pain of abandonment. His performance of the poem on HBO’s “Def Poetry” brought the crowd to their feet.
The letter inspired the book as well as a Dear Father movement to foster forgiveness of fathers through a letter writing campaign. His mission is “one million letters written, one million hearts healed.”
A Grammy and Peabody award‐winner, J. Ivy has collaborated with musical luminaries such as John Legend, Kanye West, Jay‐Z, Bob Dylan, The Roots and The Black Crowes among others. Legend credits J. Ivy for the change of his last name to Legend. J. Ivy has been a featured speaker for the ever‐popular Ted Talks.
Always channeling his gifts for the collective good, his performances continue to captivate audiences everywhere, leaving them awestruck and even transformed.
The J. Ivy Dear Father Book Concert will include a book signing and discussion of his new book. For tickets, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dear‐father‐book‐concert‐tickets‐ 15035081333?aff=es2&rank=1.
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150 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2800
Chicago, IL 60601
312-216-5169 office
708-769-1768 cell
312-523-2001 fax
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Wynona Redmond 708-769-1768
Wynona@wyn-win.com
Phyllis D. Banks 312-933-8396
Phyllis@wyn-win.com
MEDIA ALERT
AWARD WINNING POET J. IVY PRESENTS “DEAR FATHER BOOK CONCERT”
JANUARY 25, AT THE DUSABLE MUSEUM
Event Kicks Off Dear Father Book Tour
WHO: Award-winning performance poet J. Ivy, renowned among the music and poetry communities, as well as by millions of fans throughout the world via performances in videos and on television, including HBO’s “Def Poetry”
WHAT: J. Ivy Presents the Dear Father Book Concert, a poetic and musical experience featuring an evening of performance and passion as J. Ivy pours out his soul, sharing poetry, stories and excerpts from his memoir
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015 – Doors open at 6p.m. Show begins at 7.
WHERE: The DuSable Museum of African-American History | 740 E. 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637
WHY: The Book Concert is a kick-off to the launch of the new book Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain, scheduled for release Jan. 27.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- The Dear Father Book Concert will feature J. Ivy as he presents prose and writing from his much-anticipated new book Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain, a memoir, scheduled for release Jan. 27, from publisher Beyond Words.
- The book takes its title from Ivy’s poem “Dear Father,” which was a personal letter of forgiveness to his father to help heal the pain of abandonment. His performance of the poem on HBO’s “Def Poetry” brought the crowd to their feet.
- A Grammy and Peabody award-winner, J. Ivy has collaborated with musical luminaries such as John Legend, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Bob Dylan, The Roots and The Black Crowes among others. Legend credits J. Ivy for the change of his last name to Legend. J. Ivy has been a featured speaker for the ever-popular Ted Talks.
- For tickets, visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dear-father-book-concert-tickets-15035081333 or www.J-Ivy.com.
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A Grammy-winning performance poet often seen on HBO’s Def Poetry, Ivy writes about his negligent father, his own life as a black male, living in a poor, rough Chicago neighborhood, his devotion to hip hop, and being in love and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. His memoir is a mixture of short, narrative, first-person chapters and some of the poems that he has performed across the country. Clever in his telling of stories, Ivy appeals to our sense of empathy and plays with our notions of fame in contrast to his own uncommon path of hard work and aesthetic endurance. What stands out most here is the redemption and escape Ivy found in language and art, in his commitment to writing poems and perfecting performance. Ivy finds solace in the title poem and in conversations with his friends and mentors, including performers Kanye West and Jay-Z, whose inspiration he shares. Ivy is a focused poet and entertainer discovering, in poetry and prose alike, the power and necessity of words.
— Mark Elevald
South Side native J. Ivy got an early taste of fame—and snagged his first Grammy—10 years ago with his contribution to Kanye West’s debut album, The College Dropout. Since then, the poet has toured or performed with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Bob Dylan and The Roots, and done voice-over work for Nissan, Verizon, and Monday Night Football. Preparing for the January 27 release of his second book, Dear Father: Breaking the Cycle of Pain, and the accompanying Dear Father Letter Writing Campaign, the 38-year-old recently chatted with Michigan Avenue about the healing power of words and how Chicago has inspired him from day one.