This Cave Canem Fellow is the author of several books including Swag and Dear Twitter: Love Letters Hashed Out On-line, recommended by Small Press Distribution & listed as About.com Best Poetry Books of 2010. Mahogany L. Browne has released five LPs including the live album Sheroshima. As co-founder of the Off Broadway poetry production, Jam On It, and co-producer of NYC’s 1st Performance Poetry Festival: SoundBites Poetry Festival, Mahogany bridges the gap between lyrical poets and literary emcee. Browne has toured Germany, Amsterdam, England, Canada and recently Australia as 1/3 of the cultural arts exchange project Global Poetics. Her journalism work has been published in magazines Uptown, KING, XXL, The Source, Canada’s The Word and UK’s MOBO. Her poetry has been published in literary journals Pluck, Literary Bohemian, Bestiary Brown Girl Love and Up The Staircase.

She is an Urban WordNYC mentor, as seen on HBO’s Brave New Voices and facilitates performance poetry and writing workshops throughout the country. She is the publisher of Penmanship Books, a small press for performance artists and owns PoetCD.Com, an on-line marketing and distribution company for poets. Mahogany is the Nuyorican Poets Café Poetry Program Director and curator of their famous Friday Night Slam.

What does creativity mean to you? How has creativity impacted and/or inspired your life and work?

I have learned creativity is in the smallest observations of life. I write about my home, my neighborhood and my subway rides. I have also learned reading and work-shopping poems with peers can be an enormous source for inspiration. A couple of years ago I wrote “Dear Twitter…” which is a book comprised of word art and poems in the forms of tweets. So I guess the Internet and its social networking has also allowed me to play with different forms of poetry.

How would you describe your creative process?

I try to write 1 hour a day. Whether social network status updates or twitter feeds. I make sure I continue the exercise of writing, as I don’t believe in writer’s block. And found the best way to fight the blockage of creative flow is by exercising my writing muscle.

What is the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced or are facing? How did you hurdle it?

The biggest hurdle was nurturing other writers as a curator in the poetry slam community. There came a time when I didn’t feel like I had a place to share my own work. I began searching for other writing communities and applied to Cave Canem for the writing fellowship. It was the best thing I did for my career, as I found a place that allowed me to be a student again. It allowed me to work on my art in a different setting.

What do you look to the most for inspiration?

Love. Love is everything to me. I look for love in everything I do. Every journey is filled with love. Every story I write is in hopes of understanding how to love better. Myself, my family, my community.

Who are some of your most highly favored creative figures? How have they inspired your creativity?

Margaret Atwood, Ai, Pearl Cleage, Lucille Clifton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Shay Youngblood, Octavia Butler, Mary Oliver, Patricia Smith & Nikki Giovanni are my classics. Aracelis Girmay, Nikky Finney, Jan Beatty and Tracy K. Smith are my newest loves. And my contemporary inspirations are Falu, Eboni Hogan, Aja-Monet, Jaha Zainabu, April Jones, Erica Miriam Fabri, Bianca Spriggs, Rachel Eliza Griffith — I just love reading a tribe of amazing women. Some men have inspired me as well. Jive Poetic, Amir Sulaiman, Terrance Hayes and Thomas Sayers Ellis are in constant rotation.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

Come celebrate with me today something has tried to kill me and has failed.  — Lucille Clifton

If you’re an avid tea drinker – Describe your favorite tea!

Lemon tea is my absolute favorite tea. Anything lemon actually. I believe it cures everything…However, I have to be honest. I love me some coffee.

To find out more about Mahogany and where she’ll be performing next head to MoBrowne.com and be sure to check out the infamous Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

Creativity to me is the best form of self expression.  It is what separates us from each other too.  Our ideas, our inspirations, our own private thoughts – these are all elements of creativity… and how we use them to our advantage is completely up to us.  I first started finding my creativity when I was young and in school – I wrote a lot of poetry – even had a little of it published – and that was my best creative outlet – my way of self-expression that was mainly just for me.

Today I use those same tools to better myself and my business- not just me personally.  You have to be creative in the PR industry if you are going to make your clients stand out above others similar to them.  You have to think outside the box, execute campaigns in a fun, creative and effective way, and I think that is a great outlet for a lot of people in my position – I know it is for me.  It also allows for flexibility and diversity in each campaign I work on and allows for every day to be a little different, which I love.

How do you navigate the creative process?

I don’t have a specific method – I usually first come up with ideas when I least expect them – when I’m trying to fall asleep, when I’m in the shower or driving alone.  I find that you can’t push yourself into a creative space or idea – you have to be fully relaxed and open, rather than so focused that you’re going crazy.  I think the best ideas are always formed when you least expect them, and I love that!

After the idea comes to me, everything else just seems to fall into place-  whether it’s for me or for my clients.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

In business, I think the biggest obstacle is working so hard to make yourself standout in a creative, inspiring and interesting way.  I think in the end my work speaks for itself, and I have to remind myself that I don’t have to do crazy things to  impress clients (potential or current) or contacts with over-the-top ideas – I just have to be myself and show my true colors and what I have to offer.  After all, it was my own integrity and hard work that made it so I could open Double W PR almost 7 years ago, and I am thrilled to say that the business is doing great, so I must be doing something right – creatively and otherwise!

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

This is a hard one.  I don’t have one person in particular that I could point out, but I do have a number of people around me who are amazingly creative and inspiring just in themselves.  For instance, my husband Shawn is this amazing furniture maker and artist when it comes to woodwork and specialty carpentry – he sees an empty room or a pile of wood, and turns it into something beautiful.  My best friend is a stay-at-home mom who inspires her kids every day just by spending time with them and teaching them – ways in which she just lives inspires me to want to be a great mom like her one day.  And the ladies in my family – my Grammy, my mom and my sister – all are such independent and strong women who have taught me to be the same – to be creative and innovative and believe in myself.  Just by watching them and surrounding myself with people like this, I get inspired to push myself to different levels, and I don’t even think that they know it OR that I even consciously know it – it just happens.

I am also inspired by places I visit – people and cultures and their unique beauties and offerings – the artwork, personal pride that people give off when they have accomplished something amazing –  the calmness of a beach or the skyline view of another place – all of these things, although abstract, are inspiring and invigorating.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

I don’t necessarily have a quote or mantra that I live by, but I do think that everyone should find what makes them the most happy, the most inspired, the best person they can be, and go after that with all their might.  Life is too short to spend it any other way.

And just a young female entrepreneur, I’d say to everyone, but especially young females out there, that you can do anything you put your mind to.  I didn’t necessary have the goal of owning a business, but I followed this crazy path I was on that lead me here and it is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

Creativity means being able to channel divine energy specifically tailored to who you are, in order to make something that can inspire or move people but also to set yourself free. Creativity is unique to an individuals’ interests and experiences, so it’s important to do what moves you when you’re creating as opposed to following a trend or doing something that you think people would like. It has to come from the heart or your intuition.

Creativity has inspired my career because in order for me to be happy, I must create freely. It’s hard for me to do what I think people want me to do, in fact it makes me miserable. As an entertainment journalist, I’ve worked at places where I had to write for other people, which isn’t always fun, so I created my personal blogs, GangStarrGirl.com and TheLoversRocque.com, where I can write whatever I want and I’m much happier. Creativity for me is happiness. I’d rather be happy and free than anything else in the world.

How do you navigate the creative process?

I listen to my intuition. I’m not very structured, I just go with the flow. Whenever an idea pops in my head–usually this happens often, where I’ll get the same thought over and over, like a specific title or something along those lines will just keep repeating until I do something about it. When this happens I’ll stop ignoring it and finally write it down. I don’t plan, I just go where I’m guided. Most people emphasize structure but that’s just not me.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

My biggest creative obstacle is dealing with toxic people. Not to sound like Lauren Olamina or anything, but I can be an empath. I’m very affected by the energy of people around me. I wish I weren’t but it’s just who I am. I’m learning to block it out a lot better than I used to but it’s hard because there are so many people out there who aren’t happy with themselves. Said individuals like to take their misery out on other people. There’s a lot of that in the media biz, especially entertainment media. People are constantly trying to compete with you, block your blessings or make you feel like shit because they feel like shit. That can be really draining to someone’s energy and spirit. That’s my biggest problem. I hurdle it by listening to my intuition. If someone tells me no but I feel in my heart that it’s a yes then I figure out a plan a, or b. It also helps when I take care of myself by eating a wholesome diet rife with fresh veggies, praying and working out. Another defense I have against toxic people is writing about them in my morning journal but never looking back at that page. It was a suggestion I got from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way,” and it’s very liberating. It’s not about bashing said people, it’s about releasing my negative feelings into the universe in a harmless way, so that they don’t build up inside of me.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

I have a few favorite creative figures but I’ll narrow it down to two. Stephen King is one. I’m a horror fan and I think his concepts, for the most part are pretty cool. Also, I read his book about how to write (“On Writing”) and it’s the realest advice I’ve ever picked up about the craft in terms of creative writing. Instead of making this book a boring step by step process about what you should and shouldn’t do, he wrote an memoir and tied it in with his own experiences as a writer from childhood to his success as an adult and he breaks down what worked for him and what didn’t. It’s like kicking it with an uncle or something. But he has inspired my creativity because he’s the first person to explain writing in a way that I can relate. Like I said, I’m not very structured when I’m creating. I’m currently working on my first novel but I’ve been stuck with how to do it for a while because I felt that I needed to write an outline first, based on what I’ve heard from other people, and then tackle the chapters in order. However, Stephen King’s approach is similar to my own and I like that. He says to write what you feel first then worry about chapters later. I now know that I’m perfectly fine writing my book the way I have been thus far.

The second creative figure I love is Julia Cameron. Her book, “The Artist’s Way” is a creative’s secret weapon. Since I’m very sensitive to the world’s energy, I’m prone to shutting down and not being able to affectively create as a result but when I follow “The Artist’s Way,” I open up again and feel my divine creative energy motivating me to write, dance, act, and nurture my inner artist. Julia Cameron is an angel and I promise you, if you read that book it will seem like she wrote it specifically for you, that’s how good she is.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

Leap, and the net will appear.

Describe your favorite tea cup!

It’s a plain white porcelain cup with a golden brass knuckles handle. I’m sure the thought of drinking tea out of a cup with a brass knuckles handle sounds really weird but it’s pretty cool. My husband bought it for me because he said it reminded him of the quirky things that I like. He was correct about that.

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

Creativity is about making something new that catches someone’s eye — even if it’s just your own eye. It’s something that’s innovative, something that’s never been done in quite the same way before.

I was a very creative kid growing up, always doing new arts and crafts projects and coming up with new recipe ideas. I remember my mom saying to me, “You have so many hobbies — one day you will figure out how to turn them into a career.” I don’t think either of us expected that I would start my own company, but I did, and I bring the idea of creativity and making things that will catch people’s eyes — and taste buds — into my work with Baking for Good every day.

How do you navigate the creative process?

I don’t really think about it as a process, to be honest. I just do it. If I have an idea, and it’s not too time intensive or cost-prohibitive, I’ll gather any necessary materials, make it, and then record it in some fashion (e.g. with my iPhone to post on instagram and twitter). If I don’t like how something turns out the first time, I can always go back and do it again or move on to another project.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

One challenge I faced with Baking for Good was that I always wanted to introduce new treats to our website, but I didn’t have the photography skills to take good photos for the website. I didn’t want the photos to clash with the beautiful, professional photos that we already had on the site. To overcome this challenge, I recently bought a nice camera and learned how to do some basic food photography and photo editing. These skills are still a work in progress, but I no longer let them inhibit my ability to add new products to our website.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

I’ve been inspired by Martha Stewart ever since I was a little kid. I loved how she could take the most mundane household project and make it special. I was also in awe of her ability to build an empire around the types of crafts and cooking projects I loved.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

We have a mantra of sorts at Baking for Good, inspired by our tagline, “a little sugar goes a long way.” You can see it here.

Describe your favorite tea cup!

I have beautiful teacups and saucers from anthropologie. They sell the cutest housewares!

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Come visit us at Baking for Good or chat with me on twitter @BakingforGood and @emilydubner.

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

If I were to define creativity, I would say it is the ability to physically manifest imagination.

Albert Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” And I completely agree.

Imagination and creativity are very important in life because it enables us as individuals to express ourselves in ways that transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns or limitations. I am a very creative person, and without a doubt, the desire to be creative has most certainly inspired my career. It’s funny because many people know me as “Dr. Phoenyx Austin” or “the doc.” And while I do identify myself as a doctor, I also identify myself as an artist. In fact, this year I published my first book (the first of many to come) and interestingly enough, people now frequently ask when I decided to start writing. I always smile at the question because the truth is I’ve been writing my entire life. Writing is my first love. It’s my greatest passion and the physical manifestation of my creativity.

How do you navigate the creative process?

I think a lot and I get a lot of ideas. And I mean A LOT! I’m always in my head and I like to get in other people’s heads too! Many artists do like the creative process to be unorthodox, but I have become more and more methodical about my creative process. I’ve become this way because I found that if I wasn’t more systematic and disciplined about my craft, I would literally just think and think about ideas but never follow through.

Here’s a little snapshot of my creative process as it pertains to writing a book:

Once I get a book idea, I’ll write it down in my “Idea Book.” Then I’ll surf the internet to see if anyone else has written on what I’m thinking of writing about. If someone’s done it and I still really like the idea, I’ll brainstorm a way to do it better with my own unique spin. Maybe that same day I’ll also talk to a trusted friend for his/her thoughts or opinions on the book idea. I really like getting different perspectives when it comes to the creative process and I’m lucky to have friends who enjoy taking part in my creative process. After I’ve gathered as much input as I think I need, I’ll then sit down and write a more detailed book synopsis, gather research materials (i.e. several books and articles) and plan out a writing schedule (i.e. my writing schedule entails a strict word count goal per day). During the “writing phase” of the creative process I will go into full hermit mode and close myself off to the world so I can “create.” I’ve literally gone a whole week where I didn’t leave the house- except to run to the grocery store to buy fried chicken and chai tea (my favorite writing foods at the time). Once I’ve completed the first draft, I’ll emerge from my hermit cave, hang with friends and make sure to reward myself with many cocktails. All work and no play…. Then, after I’ve sufficiently rewarded myself, I’ll  get back to work on revising the draft, collaborating with my editor and putting together my book marketing plan- which involves a social media and word of mouth strategy to spread the word about my book.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

It’s one thing to get ideas, but it’s another thing to put in the hard work, discipline and sacrifice needed to bring your idea to life. And as I eluded to earlier, “follow through” has been my biggest creative obstacle. How did I overcome this obstacle? I became very systematic and disciplined about my craft.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

As far as favorite creative figure, I would have to say it’s a tie between Stephen King and Dr. Seuss. I grew up on Stephen King’s novels and reading his work greatly influenced my desire to become a fiction writer. I also admire Dr. Seuss because, let’s face it, Green Eggs and Ham was genius! And here’s a fun fact about Green Eggs and Ham: Dr. Seuss wrote that book on a bet by his publisher that he could not create a children’s story using only 50 unique words!

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

My life mantra is a quote by Bob Dylan. The quote is “Everything passes. Everything changes. Just do what you think you should do.”

Describe your favorite tea cup!

Petite and curvy- like me!

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Sure! I recently published my first book on the topic of Black women, self-esteem and afro-textured hair care. It’s filled with really great hair care advice (for women with natural and relaxed hair), as well as my personal hair care regimen. The book is titled If You Love It, It Will Grow! A Guide to Growing Long Afro-Textured Hair and it’s available on my blog, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. So be sure to check it out!

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

For me, creativity is about innovation, thinking differently, creating space, being expansive, and going beyond what’s possible to see things in a new and different light. The amazing part is that creativity will shine its light for each of us in different and beautiful ways. I don’t consider myself an overly creative person but I’m much more creative than I used to be.

Thankfully, the need for creativity influenced me to leave a successful Wall Street career and look beyond my current career path to explore a non-corporate lifestyle. As a result, I left my finance job and moved from NYC to Santa Monica, CA and became a Business/Life Coach, author and speaker. It has inspired me to go after my dreams, take chances (i.e., writing my first book, Living in Your Top 1%) and see what’s possible outside the finance world. Creativity is about tapping into your natural strengths, opening new doors, and letting yourself shine.

How do you navigate the creative process?

Each project is always different but I do practice consistent rituals. For example, when I was writing my book, which is a creative process, I wrote every morning for 4 hours regardless of how I felt. Sometimes the result was only one sentence that I liked and other times I wrote several chapters. For me, I need to create an open space in my mind to let my thoughts flow…to do this, I may go for a run in the early am, go on a hike, take a yoga class, or read. I need to quiet my mind and clear away all the distractions (phone, email, Facebook, etc) and just focus on what I’m doing. You never know what the result is going to be. That part is exciting to me.

When I’m writing an article, I’ll create my draft and then let it sit for a day before I come back and read it again. I like having some time for my ideas to settle, think through something, and gain clarity.

I also train myself to think in terms of the ideal outcome rather than let any obstacles come into my thinking. I like to focus on the “what if” rather than the “why it’s not possible.” This mindset is powerful for me.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

Writing my first book and figuring out how to do everything from A to Z. I talked to as many people in various parts of the industry to learn as much as I could about the writing, publishing, and marketing process, best approaches and then ultimately, I had to make the decisions. There are lots of good people out there who are happy to talk to you. Sometimes you have to check your ego and ask for help.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

There are so many creative geniuses, it’s hard to pick just one. I admire and gain inspiration from many people including Steve Jobs (for his amazing innovation), Alvin Ailey (amazing dance company), Roger Federer (creative genius on the tennis court), Steven Spielberg (creating some of the best films and sharing the power of story), and Ellen (talented comedian) to share a few.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

Two words that I say everyday in my mantra are love and abundance. One of my favorite quotes is,

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

Describe your favorite tea cup!

Tea with a good friend is always my favorite. My teacup often says Starbucks on it

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

You can’t attach a general “verb based” definition to creativity. It’s like faith and love. It is a substance or essence. Just like faith is classified as our evidence of unseen things, the things we do see are the evidence of creativity. It’s the pre-existing foundation for all form in the world. Everything that has form is evidence of creativity because everything that is was created. Everything I do is inspired by creativity and the desire to translate my inner thoughts & creative interactions into tangible substance and communication. It’s the way I view the world.

How do you navigate the creative process?

For me, it’s honestly just a matter of yielding. I listen more than I operate; therefore, I consider myself more of a student rather than a technician. I really haven’t developed a standard procedure. I do a lot of research (mostly visual) and once I’m fortunate enough to be blessed with an idea, I study how to get it done and just do it.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

As with most people I know, the greatest obstacle has been a practical one. Possessing the resources to execute a creative vision. I’ve always felt that I could do so much with a large budget and no restrictions (I still do). I’m still not able to operate free of monetary restrictions, but I’ve learned to get the desired result by tapping into the very creative way of thinking that created my ideas in the first place. I’ve just learned to build things instead of buying them, and I’ve done a lot of trespassing to get the perfect setting for my photo stories.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

I don’t have one. I admire a lot of creative icons for various reasons, but I tend to look to them as concepts instead of models. I like to study the idea behind an individual and relevantly apply ideas to my creative life wherever necessary. For instance, I love Charles Eames’ non traditional approach to standard product engineering. I love how Paul Strand operated via an intense understanding of artistic theory. I love how Peter Lindbergh captures light and how Avedon documented culture. I study all these things and it’s the study of the idea, not the individual that results in effective creative endeavors.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

This is almost impossible to answer. I’d choose a quote from one of our upcoming photo stories.. “Just do your job and mover over as time continues on.”

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebookand Twitter for more conversations on creativity.

Define creativity. What does it mean to you? And how has it inspired your career?

Creativity is a form of frustration. If you are lucky it produces something unique and interesting but creativity in itself is not an expression of uniqueness.

How do you navigate the creative process?

How do I navigate it? I think it navigates me! The process is intuitive, at least for me.

Describe the biggest creative obstacle you’ve faced in the past. How did you hurdle it?

Money! Sometimes I was able to overcome it. Sometimes I did not.

Who is your favorite creative figure? How have they inspired your creativity?

Christo and Andy Warhol. I like people who think on a large scale. There is something endearing about works of art that are so closely connected with a giant ego. I think it makes the work very personal.

If you could choose one quote as your life mantra, what would it be?

“Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” – Henry David Thoreau

Describe your favorite tea cup!

Big, round, and full!

Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I always love new friends on Facebook. Find me there!

The Tea for Creatives series celebrates the creative minds that Possibiliteas seeks to serve with its brews. We aim to bring the creative community insightful and eye-opening profiles of the best and brightest creative professionals across various industries. Join us on Facebook and Twitter for more conversations on creativity.