BIOGRAPHY
Amaris, meaning "whom God has promised", is a bird beginning to fly, a caterpillar transforming, a flower blossoming. Amaris is becoming, evolving she would say. She is a revolutionary writer, a truth telling poet, a passionate activist, a promising vocalist, a designer that beautifies, a talented visual artist, an emerging actress, a role model and an encouraging educator originally from Hampton, VA. She obtained a B.S. in Architectural Engineering at North Carolina A&T State University but decided to pursue her passions, the spoken word and music, instead. Amaris is a creative and enlightened soul who believes using her gifts to inspire, inform, edify, educate, motivate and heal is her purpose in life. She not only inspires one to get involved in whatever way one can to make change on a community level but also challenges one to see the world from a different perspective on international and global issues. Amaris believes that love is the beginning of truth and truth is the beginning to living a life of freedom. "I craft pieces that are engineered to help people free themselves" she explains. Amaris is currently enrolled in Chicago State University's Masters of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program where she is honing her craft in the literary and cultural traditions of her ancestors.
This Soul Sistar speaks and sings with her heart in her tongue and forces it out with the truth she delivers. Described as small but powerful, Amaris has won several slams but more importantly to her, she has touched many peoples' lives. She has performed in forums sponsored by groups such as Hip Hop against Racist War, The Care and Share Foundation, African Women in Action, HIV/AIDS Awareness, and Brown v. Board Foundation to name a few. She also enjoys exchanging with fertile minds, often performing at schools of any educational level. In addition to the aforementioned, she performs for many youth groups, churches, mosques, bookstores, conferences and festivals. Amaris has also had the opportunity to open shows for Toi Derricote, Glenis Redmond, Haki Madhubuti, Jessica Care Moore, Floetry, Kanye West, Lil Brother, Ricanstruction and The Last Poets.
Up and down the east coast and parts of the west, with her sometimes soft but poignant style, Amaris has gained the attention of local radio stations, television and newspapers alike sharing her message of revolution to injustice, freedom of one's self, self- actualization and empowerment, truth and love for humanity. In May 2005, Amaris and her first opus "black and blue", a poetically liberating self-healing journey through the African Diaspora, were featured on defpoetryjam.com. Her sophomore album, "sell the shadow" is a lyrically rebellious piece of unconfined art with a message for the times released this summer 2011. For more from Amaris Selah, visit www.wix.com/amarisselah/thinksfree.
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