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Dasham K. Brookins — or Brother Dash, as he is commonly known — is from Brooklyn, New York. A published poet since the age of 8, his first success came from his first-ever poem about the death of a childhood friend that was published in his elementary school journal. He is now a sought-after spoken word poet. In the past two years he has traveled in the UK and all over the U.S. to perform his poetry for a variety of audiences.
Brother Dash believes that his work carries universal appeal across religious, ethnic, and cultural boundaries because of his fluid, fun-loving style. His identity as a ‘Muslim poet’ was a gradual process that shadowed his own growth in faith, a step he took in converting to Islam in the mid-1990s.
“As I learned more about my religion and matured as a poet and spoken word artist I found myself being moved to incorporate that into Islamic poetry,” he says.
While poetry is a hobby that has turned into a career for Brother Dash, he has great ambitions in the impact he hopes to achieve through his words. “I’m trying to bring a whole lot of color to a world that likes to see things in a very simplistic, myopic and self-serving black and white,” he says. He hopes that the themes in his work will shed light on the diversity in thought and presentation that Islam promotes. His focus on spirituality demonstrates that Islam can be part of the solution to solving internal and external struggles.
During his concerts in the U.S., he recalls being told by a teenage Muslim boy that he had “no idea Muslim poetry could be so cool,” and by non-Muslims who said his performance gave them a better appreciation of Islam and Muslims in general.
He sees poetry as a means of expression that should be open to everyone. “I want there to be more poets and writers,” he says. “I want sisters to be on stage telling their own narratives in their own words.”
Brother Dash’s latest CD is titled Poetically Speaking: Savory Spoken Word ... Spiritually Served. More information on his work can be found on his web site, www.muslimpoet.com.
Posted May 5, 2008
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