Anis Mojgani is on fire.
Mouth at microphone, hands slicing the air, he's got his audience right where he wants them.
Dressed in blue jeans and a striped polo-style shirt, sweat beads at his dark hairline as he speaks truth and love and inspiration.
Mojgani is performing one of the most integrative, reactive types of poetry today -- spoken word.
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Anis Mojgani performs
See a video of the poet performing during his farewell show at the Sentient Bean last September.
Click to see the video
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Not so long ago, spoken word -- as it's now known -- was foreign to Savannah. Poetry readings were staid, solemn affairs. The works most often read from were by dead, white writers.
There were a few, such as journalist and former St. Vincent's teacher Vaughnette Goode, who offered a venue for new voices at her monthly Gallery Espresso gatherings. When Goode returned to Savannah four years ago, there were no venues for reading original work.
"I did the coffeehouse thing in the '70s," she said from Atlanta, where she recently relocated. "I think there was just no place for it before. It wasn't an environment conducive to that."
How times have changed.
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Spitfire Poetry Group co-founders Clinton Powell, left, and Renazance are aggressively promoting spoken word as an art form in Savannah.
Stephen Berend/Savannah Morning News
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Open mic nights now abound from campuses to coffee shops to bars, and a new generation has given life to new poetry. One of the foremost groups promoting spoken word locally is Spitfire Poetry Group.
Close friends Ralph Dillard, known as Renazance, and Clinton D. Powell, began Spitfire nearly two years ago.
A love of the craft brought them together, and the group now numbers 15. Under the theme, "Not your average open mic night," Spitfire hosts poet showcases, open mic nights, spoken word competitions, regional performances and classroom workshops for youth.
"Spitting is basically a jargon that poets and MCs use to explain ripping the microphone, or doing a good job. We always talk about spitting venom, or fire," Renazance said. "We're trying to convey quality ... all of (the poets) are basically spitting fire."
Part of what distinguished the group early on was its aggressive attempts to market itself. One thousand flyers would be distributed to hype the latest show, commercials were created for radio, Comcast cable channel 7 hosted underground poet showcases, and word of mouth was intense.
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Emily Eldridge, from left, Allyson Ross and Kristi Sword react as poet Anis Mojgani recites one of his more humorous poems during his farewell one-man show earlier this month at the Sentient Bean.
Stephen Berend/Savannah Morning News
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Savannah "went from zero open mics to maybe 10 going on around downtown. It's an active scene right now, compared to 1997 when we started," said Powell, an English student at Savannah State University. "Poetry touches all aspects, it has a place everywhere."
Spoken word has been largely popularized on the big screen and on television, including in the acclaimed 1997 film, "Love Jones" and, more recently on HBO's series, "Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry."
"It's becoming more popular," said Spitfire member Mark Antony Austin. "It's cool to be at a spoken word event."
Part of the positive audience response comes from the positive vibe exuded by the poets, said Austin, a chemical engineer originally from Philadelphia. Audiences are always going to leave "with a good feeling," he said.
For New Orleans native Mojgani, 25, that's part of his role as a spoken word artist, to create a positive vibe, or feeling, that resonates with his audience. His farewell one-man show earlier this month was packed, with the crowd sitting on the floor and spilling outside onto the East Park Avenue sidewalk.
"I have three minutes, where hopefully something I say changes someone. I try not to use those three minutes to talk about why I'm pissed off, or burned the toast that morning," Mojgani said. "I feel that if I can say something or write something that puts into words something someone is feeling to help them, it's selfish of me not to push that forward."
Sharing is revered by members of Spitfire who see their performances as part of an overall movement.
"I'm just contributing to the craft," said Chelsea Allen, a 23-year-old subcontractor. "I don't think what I have to offer is so much better than anyone else. I just think if I have a little bit of a gift, I can share it."
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Emily Eldridge, from left, Allyson Ross and Kristi Sword react as poet Anis Mojgani recites one of his more humorous poems during his farewell one-man show earlier this month at the Sentient Bean.
Stephen Berend/Savannah Morning News
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Many of the Spitfire members characterize their style as sensual, romantic, in-your-face, political, inspirational, or urban.
But not Allen. The relatively new performer says she's still coming into her own, is still defining her style.
"I'm not really rhythmic. I'm more eloquent because I like to write about things that please me," said Allen, who refers to herself as a dancer who writes.
It's the diversity of people, their backgrounds and experiences that create such a compelling force when Spitfire poets take the stage. And it's a force that continues to propel the group forward, gaining more recognition and acclaim.
Five years from now Spitfire aims to be an established entity in Georgia, while making their footprint on a national level.
Said co-founder, Renazance: "There's a huge haven of talent with Spitfire and it's just budding."
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