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    • STORYTELLER
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    • GRANNY GOOSE
    • MAMA EARTH
    • ANANSI TIME
    • HEY AESOP!
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    • ABOUT DUNBAR
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Books, Video's, Poetry & more!

Benjamin Franklin Short Story Winner

2006 Short Story Bio Is A Winner!

THE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN "AUTOBIOGRAPHY PROJECT" WAS A CHALLENGING 300 WORD CONTEST. 

ONI'S STORY ABOUT GROWING UP GOING TO THE UPTOWN THEATER WAS ONE OF THE 20 WINNERS. 

HER STORY POSTER WAS POSTED AT THE BUS STOP SHELTER AT 20TH & WALNUT ST. 

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Read story here

Hear Oni in this Award Winning Book!

LISTEN TO ONI SOLO RAP DUNBAR'S "WE WEAR THE MASK" ON PAGE 56,

ALSO FEATURED WITH NIKKI & VAL GRAY WARD ON PAGE. 54, GWENDOLYN BROOKS, "WE REAL COOL"  & MARTIN LUTHER KINGS SPEECH ON PAGE 64. 

Invite Oni to present a hip hop storytelling session with your students!

Nikki Giovanni introduces Oni to rap Dunbar!

PANTENE TOTAL YOU TOUR

ONI RAPS DUNBAR'S "WE WEAR THE MASK" FOR MC LYTE & AUDIENCE AT CONVENTION CENTER IN PHILADELPHIA, PA

Professor Nikki Giovanni on the making of "Hip Hop Speaks To Children" & giving Oni  props in this award winning book she created & edited.

The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia

$20.00
Pay with PayPal or a debit/credit card

Philly Scam or Paying It Forward? Is a biographical short story on the joys and dreads of a visit back to Oni's hometown, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly affection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Hindsight 2020

$20.00
Pay with PayPal or a debit/credit card

Baptized By The Blues, a short story on how Oni's dream to play her bass guitar and present "Love Must Fall"  at Morgan Freeman's Juke Joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi....came true!

Story Play Shop & Poetry Workshop

Debut! with Kevin Cordi

PERMISSION 2 PLAY 

Presents DEBUT!

With Professor Storyteller Kevin Cordi

A place where stories and more, are performed for the first time! 

January 30, 2022 - Sunday - 2:00 PM EST


Watch here

You Can Do Dunbar!

Add  to your repertoire!

STORY CROSSROADS & ARTISTS STANDING STRONG TOGETHER, Inc.

A WORK/PLAY SHOP FOR ONE & ALL

Teaching Artists! Storytellers! Dunbar Fans! 

February 12, 2022 - Saturday - 9:00 MT / 11:00 EST 


Learn MOre

 "I listened to Peace & War this morning on your podcast Your telling of that moral message was incredible. What a blessing that the world is able to access and enjoy these stories for free. Thank you."   Diane Williams.co, Author, Storyteller

Oni's Podcast!

Why I Write VIDEO

Spoken word from Sister Wings, CD. A experimental collaboration video. Please excuse the low pixels in the photos...many were taken before HD. Oni wrote and delivers this mix over the groove of Samori Coles of lil drummaboy LLC, Philadelphia

I Dreamt, MLK Jr. Inside Story & Poem

Listen on "Story Story Podcast"

 Clik on CD Cover to listen to the back story on how and why this story poem was created. 

Hit the back arrow in your browser and you can return to browse website while you listen. 

Thank you & enjoy

I Dreamt, MLK Jr. The Video

 An excerpt from the spoken word tribute poem, from the independently produced CD "Sister Wings, Spoken Word Songs Bass & Beats"  

ASCAP (SR) (c) 2005  Words by Oni Lasana  - Music by Samori Coles of lil drummaboy, LLC Philadelphia. 

Please contact Oni for permission to use in classroom. 

Order CD or download track here

full lyrics are enclosed with purchase of CD. If digitally downloaded, contact Oni for the poem.  

Please excuse the photos as the pixels are not clear and were published before HD.

An acrostic poem

Create your poem with the first initials of your name!

Ladies Lunch & Soiree

SISTER WINGS & 'LIAS' MOTHER PERFORMANCE

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Featured Poet

BIG TRIGGER'S SOUND OF JAZZ & POETRY SHOW, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Believe

A tale on teamwork.

The Party by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Mercer Museum, Pennsylvania

Keep A Pluggin' Away

A poem of encouragement by Paul L Dunbar @ Tobago Library Services 

Fred & Mabel

An adult story on perspective.

HAIKU /MYKOU / FOR YOU

Contributions to Sonia Sanchez Mural Arts Haiku project
Haiku's is a  form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, & 5  

The following are my submissions for the project.

(C) 2012 All Rights Reserved

Music

Travel

Travel

 Make me dance all day
See me reach out to the light
Know me in a song 

Travel

Travel

Travel

Travel unravels
Stereotypes fall apart
Releasing our fears

Family

Travel

Family

More than blood thru veins
Family tears joys and pains
Connect in one love

Peace

Murals

Family

Peace, silent words heard
Inside our mind space in time 
Whispers unknown ...ssssh

Money

Murals

Murals

People make money
Money makes people mo' friends
Money goes friends end

Murals

Murals

Murals

Old houses light up
Walls reflecting our history
Murals tell stories 

Oni's Diary ~ Muse : considering something thoughtfully

All Posts

Obama Rap Story

April 14, 2020|Poetry


Let me tell you a story about a man 

Who grew up in a colorful world, Black, White and Tan

His mother was Irish American from Kansas named Ann Dunham

His dad was from the tribe of Luo, Barack Obama Sr. was an African


As students at the University of Hawaii

Obama senior and Ann fell in love between classes

Even though racial prejudiced existed

among the ignorant masses


In those hatred days

Love between different races wasn't cool.

They got married anyway

And both stayed in school

Barack's father was born in Kenya a country far across the sea

His culture was different from American History

Kenya wanted educated people to help build up the land

So Obama Sr. went back to Kenya to help his countryman


Sometimes when people marry too young

It's not easy to stay on the marriage course

When things got difficult for his parents

Barack was 2 when sadly, they divorced


Barack means "Blessed" and so they were

The father and his beloved son

Barry, being a inter-racial young boy

 Had much racism to overcome


His mother moved to Jakarta, Indonesia

and married once again

Barack lived with Asian friends, 

appreciating the culture of the land


School was limited in Jakarta

Education is the key to success

His mother sent him to school in Hawaii

so his education could be the best


Barry lived with his Gramps and Toot

Who raised him up just right

They taught him not to judge people by how they looked

To be peaceful and not to fight


After high school, he went on to get his degree

At Colombia University in New York City

He helped people get jobs, housing and education

Working to build up community relations


Like John Brown and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

and all freedom fighters who lived before

If you want to change lives, you have to change laws

Resist evil to help everyone, rich or poor


Barack enrolled in Harvard Law School

Standing out among the few

He was the first African-American president

Of the school's newspaper, The Havard Law Review


Barack wrote a book about his dad, played basketball

wrote poetry in his spare time

But he always stayed focused on studying

about the Civil Rights of all mankind


He moved to Chicago to teach

After passing the bar exam

Professor Obama taught the Constitution of the USA

His classes were in demand


Times were changing, in changing times

He met and married a lawyer name Michelle

They had two daughters, Malia and Sasha

Barack became a family man as well


In 1996 Barack Obama became the 5th Black man

to hold a United States senate seat

For 8 years Senator Obama Served the state of Illinois

Young, old, city and country, he represented everyone's voice


Obama was chosen as the keynote speaker

at the 2004 National Democratic Convention

His message of progressive unity

Has the world's undivided attention!


Many people saw themselves in Barack Obama

African, Irish, Asian, Hispanic, Native, Italian, German

Obama gave them a voice, rising out of American's melting pot

Obama said "Yes We Can" and Yes! He was the people choice!


Was it finally possible a Black man 

would be president of the United States?

Shirley Chisholm and Jessy Jackson ran before him

But it was not their fate!


So now as I share this poem

Some of Martin Luther Kings's dream came true

Barack Obama ran for president in 2008

Winning fair and square because of people like you!


"Do you realize your dreams are never out of reach?"

It was what Obama said in his acceptance speech.

"The hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believed that America has a place for him too!"

Barack Obama, was the 44th President of the United States of America

Who served the country for me and you!

(C) 2009 Oni Lasana 

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