Myth City Writers in the Schools

We come here to heal! Poet and author Jasminne Mendez talks about the myth of Florida Water or Agua Florida, a cologne used in many Latinx households and a staple ingredient in Curanderismo practice. She considers what it means to clean and heal through acts of love and how that energy is passed on into the totems in our lives. What does it mean to create oneself and create art that is cleansed of evil spirits? Jasminne talks about the ongoing work of decolonizing and disempowering the authority of white gaze. To close, Jasminne gives us a blessing in the form of an excerpt from her book, Island of Dreams.

Find Jackson on Insta & Twitter @jaxnealpoetry

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.

On this spooky episode of Myth City we bring you actor and poet extraordinaire, Muhammad Yunus Khaerisman, to share a myth about Indonesian ghosts known as pocongs. He discusses learning the value of the oral tradition in Indonesia and carrying on in his work as an actor and poet in the United States. Muhammad considers how the body carries, remembers, and catalogs stories, and how he unlocks those accounts in his work. To finish up Muhammad performs a poem about his name and life as a Muslim in America.

Find Jackson on Insta & Twitter @jaxnealpoetry

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.

So he’s a POET poet!  Ayokunle Falomo, Nigerian-American, Tedx Speaker, and the author of three collections of poetry, is in the studio to enchant you with his lyric. For this episode Ayokunle has brought in the myth of the world’s creation according to the Yoruba of West Africa. He considers the mechanics of oral storytelling and nonlinear story telling. How are our stories connected and how do we move through time and space in our stories to arrive at “the larger narrative of being human”? To finish Ayo reads us his poem on creation and the origin of self, “In the Beginning”.

Find Ayo on Twitter @AFalomo & Insta @mrfalomo

Find Jackson on Insta & Twitter @jaxnealpoetry

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.

We’re having a reunion! My former poetry slam team member, Alinda “Adam” Mac, is here to give you brilliant teen poetry glory. Adam Mac is a queer Vietnamese American, poet, performer, and writer from Houston, Texas. In this episode we hear the Chinese myth of the moon goddess, Chang’e, and the origin of the moon festival. Discussing this myth, Adam talks to us about the queerness of oral storytelling, and the importance of shifting narrative. How do we disarticulate the coerced narrative of whiteness? What does reclamation look like in storytelling? And how can we use storytelling to protect and honor the people we love? Adam closes with a poem dedicated to her best friend titled, “02192000”.

Find Adam on Insta @duidobi and Twitter @swogpots

Find Jackson on Insta & Twitter @jaxnealpoetry

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.

Tell everybody and their mother about this episode! Former Houston Poet Laureate and my poetry mother, the goddess herself, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, graces us with her poetic presence in this episode of Myth City. D.E.E.P. tells us a story about her mother’s supernormal ability to see everything that goes on in the house, even if she’s not around. Discussing this myth,  D.E.E.P. talks about black mothers as vessels for stories in the family and how black women connect through “the tribe of womanhood”. Closing out, our enchantress of words blesses us with an excerpt from her collection.

Follow D.E.E.P on Insta and Twitter @livelifedeep

Follow Jackson on Insta and Twiter @jaxnealpoetry

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.

Catch a sneak peak of Myth City - a five part podcast by the Houston Youth Poet Laureate, Jackson Neal, that asks writers and storytellers to conjure the ”mythologies” that inform their work and life in Houston. Touching on themes of race, gender, family, and poetry, these episodes celebrate Houston’s rich cultural histories.

The Myth City podcast was funded in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance Let Creativity Happen grant.

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an initiative of Writers in the Schools, Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, and Houston Public Library.

 Produced by Andrew Karnavas of Yawp Records.