
Sign up to hear from us about upcoming shows and events.
Free Upstate Poetry stands for artistic expression, inclusion, freedom, the authenticity of self, healing, and love for community. We want those who have felt they do not belong in certain arenas to have a place to call home.
Our mission is to give our community a space to be free and to express themselves regardless of social status, religion, culture, sexual orientation, or level of artistic ability.
We have the word poetry in our name but it does not mean we have limited our reach to only poets. Poetry is the medium of expression that we have chosen, but that is just the beginning! We respect, honor, and welcome all genres of artistic expression.
Co-Founder of #FUP, Celestial Poet, Hayle` Oswell, is a native of Greenville, SC who is a creative linguist and visual artist. The owner/founder of Celestial Poet, LLC. she loves serving and teaching the power of writing, self-expression, performance, and spoken word to teens and adults. CP shares her gift of healing, art, and poetry by facilitating for Writer's Well Youth Fellowship, a branch of Speaking Down Barriers, whose mission is show black girls/femmes/gender-expansive youth the power that their voices have. Her artistic expression has expanded to logo and website design, and social media marketing within her new endeavor "CP Creations L & D ". Recently accepted a part of the Artist Collective of Spartanburg, SC, she continues to share her gifts with others, and expand her activist reach within her community.
Max Lit aka Jason Franklin is a poet, author, and lyricist from Greenville, SC via Jamaica Queens, New York. As a poet, Max taps into his feelings regarding social and racial injustices, love and relationships, and family life, relating his own personal experiences through written and spoken word. His first self published work, Soul Therapy: a collection of works inspired by the life of Max Lit, dives into those topics individually, with each being covered in separate "sessions". As a long term goal, Max is looking to not only further his own career as a writer but also those of others through his own publishing company ml kreative konsulting & Publishing. Currently, Max is working on another written project, Therapy of the Soul, which will be more of a motivational work aimed at exploring who we are as souls and our abilities as such. He is a definite believer in the unlimited potential that we all have as humans to literally change the world through our gifts and talents. As we all move towards unity, transformation, inclusion, and equity for all, it is his belief that the creatives will lead that charge.
Working together for over ten years, Free Upstate Poetry was birthed by a tribe that wanted to support the community and eliminate the monopoly of talent, exclusion of diversity within the poetry community and to provide a space where all participants can feel a level of safety and accountability. The focus of #FUP is to provide a space for artists of all mediums, to come and share no matter what their lifestyle looks like, level of artists' expression, or amount of experience they have (or don't have). Free Upstate Poetry welcomes both novices and professionals and does not discriminate based on a person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. #FUP goal is to help those who want to build their craft do so.
CP and Max clarify the expectations, vision, mission, and openness of the #FreeUpstatePoetry brand.
#FreeUpstatePoetry hosts a virtual open mic. Performers of all mediums are welcome to come and get free! Performance is not required to atte...
Free Upstate Poetry hosts an open mic for teens ages 13-19. Adult permission required. Youth are encouraged to share poetry, song, comedy, ...
#FreeUpstatePoetry hosts a virtual open mic. Performers of all mediums are welcome to come and get free! Performance is not required to att...
Free Upstate Poetry hosts an open mic for teens ages 13-19. Adult permission required. Youth are encouraged to share poetry, song, comedy, ...
For inquiries about our upcoming events, send us a message.
We will get back to you soon.
#FreeUpstatePoetry
Copyright © 2020 #FreeUpstatePoetry - All Rights Reserved.