Recently, 2 Pens & Lint's own, Henry Duncan, had a chance to ask Mr. Inspirational a few questions about the different elements of his chapbook, what inspires him, and what it means to be a T.H.U.G.

Henry Duncan: In your chapbook you include devotionals along with your poetry. For those that may not know, what is a devotional and why did you include them in your chapbook?

Mr. Inspirational: In a nutshell, a devotional is a few paragraphs of words needed to inspire or help someone through a certain point or situation in their life. I had decided to incorporate devotionals along with my poetry because of my starting point with writing devotionals before I began taking on the art form of writing and performing spoken word poetry. My devotionals are simply reflections of stories in regards to myself in which I would generalize to allow those who experienced the same situations or similar affects in their life and to be able to provide some sort of relevance and encouragement to their situation.

HD: You also include art work in your new chapbook. Are these your creations and how did you decide which pieces to include?

MI: All artwork included in the chapbook are personal works of my own. I own a small graphic design business named RFX©, which I have been owner of for the past 6 years. I decided to use pieces that would fit best in the chapbook. The few designs used in the chapbook were picked based on the tone and mood of the chapbook to better illustrate the pictures I intended to use with my words.

HD: What inspired you to start writing poetry?

MI: Writing poetry became my outlet to defeat a lot of things I was once feeling in my life. I was battling depression, loss of loved ones, suicidal thoughts, low self esteem, failed relationships, etc. I felt like I was the most honest with myself and those around me whenever I would write my feelings out on paper since I never (at the time) gained enough courage to speak how I really felt without facing judgment or some sort of repercussion from those I truly cared about. I continue to write presently in order to remain honest with my feelings, share myself and paint vivid pictures that I sometimes still have a hard time expressing in person.

HD: You are working on a fellowship called T.H.U.G.'s. Explain what that is.

MI: T.H.U.G’s is an acronym which means “Trusting Humble Understanding Gentlemen.” It is a male fellowship group that I am spearheading to help promote males to become better men to their wives or significant others, better fathers to their kids and more effective leaders to their communities. It was based on the poem that I wrote which is needed to let our female counterparts know that there are good men out here ready to assist them and the world. It is also needed to promote consciousness to their individual strengths and weaknesses within them individually to better become whole with themselves and those around them.

HD: What do you hope to accomplish with your poetry?

MI: I hope to inspire people with the words read and heard. I plan to become a full time traveling poet and motivational speaker while promoting my personal philosophy of the 3 P’s (Peace, Patience and Positivity). I hope to connect with as many people as possible to help promote them to their individual next level, to propel excellence within them while maintaining some sort of stability in their lives.

HD: Where can we see you perform and how can people contact you?

MI: People can definitely catch me at any spoken word venue in the Tri State area and abroad. I’m currently working on my debut spoken word tour called “Get Um Inspired” in which I will be up and down the east coast performing my spoken word poetry which is scheduled to debut in 2012. If anyone is interested in booking or updated information on when/where I am performing, then they can catch me at:

Email: mrinspirational22@gmail.com
Facebook: Mr. Inspirational
Twitter: mr_inspire_101