Songs From Under The River

by Anis Mojgani

After six years of touring the country, Anis has combed through out-of-print editions to put together a best-of collection. Popular poems such as "Direct Orders," "Shake the Dust," "Here Am I" and more, are collected here alongside lost poems, favorite poems and new, unpublished works.

Genres: Poetry

102 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2013

About the author

ANIS MOJGANI is a two time National Poetry Slam Champion, winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, and multiple-time TEDx Speaker. He has been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, AIR Serenbe, and the Oregon Literary Arts Writers-In-The-Schools program. His work has appeared on HBO, NPR, and in the pages of such journals as Rattle, Forklift Ohio, Paper Darts, and Thrush.
Anis is the author of five books, all published by Write Bloody Publishing: The Pocketknife Bible (2015). Songs From Under the River (2013), The Feather Room (2011), Over the Anvil We Stretch (2008), and his latest, In the Pockets of Small Gods (2018). Originally from New Orleans, he currently lives in Oregon.

Reviews

[Liz Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would love to see him perform live.
"Shake the Dust"
"This is for the fat girls
This is for the little brothers

For the former prom queen
And for the milk crate ball players
This is for the school yard wimps
And the childhood bullies that tormented them
Shake the dust.

This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them.
This is for the bus drivers driving a million broken hymns
And for the men who have to hold down 3 jobs,

Simply to hold up their children.
For the nighttime schoolers
And for the midnight bike riders trying to fly
Shake the dust.

For the two year olds who cannot be understood
because they speak half English and half god
Shake the dust

For the girl whose brother is going crazy

For the gym class wall flower
And for the 12 year olds that are afraid of taking public showers
For the kid who's always late to class because he forgets the combination to his locker
For the girl who loves somebody else
Shake the dust.

This is for the hard men
Who want love, but know that it won't come
For the ones who are forgotten

For the ones whose amendments do not stand up for
For the ones who are told to speak only when they are spoken to
And then are never spoken to
Speak every time you stand
So that you do not forget yourself
Never let a moment go by that doesn't remind you
That your heart beats 100 000 times a day
And that there enough gallons of blood
To make everyone of you an ocean

Do not settle for letting these waves settle
And for the dust to collect in your veins.
This is for the celibate pedophile who keeps on struggling

For the poetry teachers
And for the people who go on vacations alone
For the sweat that drips of a Mick Jagger singing lips
And for the shaking skirt on Tina Turners shaking hips
And For the heavens, and for the hells through which Tina has lived

This is for the tired and the dreamers
And for those families that will never be like the Cleavers
With perfectly made dinners, and songs like Wally and the Beaver
This is for the bigots
This is for the sexists
This is for the killers
This one is for the big house jail sentenced cats becoming redeemers
And for the springtime, that somehow always shows up after every single winter

This is, This is for you.

Make sure that by the time the fisherman returns
You are gone
Because just like the days, I burn at both ends
And everytime I write, everytime I open my eyes
I am cutting out a part of myself
Just to give it to you.
So shake the dust and take me with you do

For none of this, has ever been for me
All that pushes and pulls
And pushes and pulls
Pushes for you

So grab the world by its clothes pins
And shake it out again, and again
And jump on top and take it for a spin
And when you hop off, shake it again

For this is yours
Make my words worth something
Make this not just another poem that I write
Make it like its heavy about us all
And walk into it, breathe it in
Let it crash through the halls of your arms
Like the millions of years, of millions of poets
Coursing like blood
Pumping and pushing, making you live

Shaking the dust
So when the world knocks at your front door
Clutch the knob tightly, and open on up
Run forward into its wide spread greeting arms
With your hands before you
Your fingertips trembling
Though they may be"

P.S. Anis Mojgani - "21 Thoughts on the Stereotype that All Brown People Are Terrorists"

[Cherry Arceo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always liked poetry since I was a kid but have only learned to love it when I discovered spoken poetry. Just a random night, I was browsing through videos on YouTube when I chanced upon this man, Anis Mojgani. Just like most people I guess, I first heard Shake The Dust, from that day onwards I have been a huge fan. Of Anis, consequently of spoken poetry. There's something about words spoken that makes it more beautiful. And it seems like the messages it tries to send across sit and weigh more in my heart. Anis Mojgani's poetry is like a breather to a suffocating world of hate, a reminder that life is still beautiful. There are phrases that I do not understand but feel. I bought the book as a constant reminder. It inspires me and heals the broken parts of me. By the way, you should check out Sarah Kay too.

[Nathan Wurschmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection largely did not resonate with me as much as some of Mojgani’s later works, but Shake the Dust is and will always be a favorite. Mojgani is among the best of the modern poets and one of his performances of Shake the Dust was what first turned me on to his work. Shake the Dust, embrace the world, and keep writing your story.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

what I enjoyed [closer, spilling apples, the fisherman, the branches are full & the orchards heavy] I quite enjoyed

what I did not [the rest] I quite did not

[Ariel Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost took a nap but I started reading and my heart was pumping quickly and I sat up in bed and I finished the whole book. So so wonderful.

[Yeshi Dolma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5, I round it down. I anyway always loved Anis's spoken word poetry and this collection was beautiful. For all the songs from under the river that I have heard, my day is already made. :)

[Camilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anis Mojgani is my absolute favorite poet ever, and I think that Songs from Under the River must be his best collection of poetry. He writes the most beautiful and amazing poems, and he always manages to surprise me with his work. It's pure magic.

One of my favorite poems from this beautiful collection: Shake the Dust.

"This is for the fat girls.
This is for the little brothers.

This is for the schoolyard wimps and for the childhood bullies that tormented them. For the former prom queen and for the milk crate ballplayers. For the nighttime cereal eaters and for the retired elderly Wal-Mart store front door greeters.

Shake the dust.

This is for the benches and the people sitting upon them.
For the bus drivers driving a million broken hymns.
For the men who have to hold down three jobs simply to hold up their children for the nighttime schoolers and for the midnight bike riders trying to fly.

Shake the dust.

This is for the 2-year-olds who cannot be understood because they speak half-English and half-God. Shake the dust.
For the boys with the beautiful, beautiful sisters.

Shake the dust.

For the girls with the brothers who are going crazy.
For those gym class wallflowers, and the 12-year-olds afraid of taking public showers.
For the kid who’s always late to class because he forgets the combination to his locker.
For the girl who loves somebody else.

Shake the dust.

This is for the hard men who want love but know that it won’t come.
For the ones who are forgotten. The ones the amendments do not stand up for.
For the ones who are told to speak only when you are spoken to and then are never spoken to.
Speak every time you stand so you do not forget yourself. Do not let one moment go by that doesn’t remind you that your heart beats thousands of times every single day and that there are enough gallons of blood to make every one of you oceans.
Do not settle for letting these waves settle and for the dust to collect in your veins.

This is for the celibate pedophile who keeps on struggling. For the poetry teachers and for the people who go on vacations alone. For the sweat that drips off of Mick Jagger’s singing lips, and for the shaking skirt on Tina Turner’s shaking hips.
For the heavens and for the hells through which Tina has lived.

This is for the tired and for the dreamers.
For the families that will never be like the Cleavers with perfectly made dinners and sons like Wally and the Beaver.
This is for the bigots, for the sexists, for the killers, for the big house jail-sentenced cats becoming redeemers, and for the springtime that somehow always seems to know to show up after every one of our winters.

This is for you.

Make sure that by the time the fisherman returns you are gone. Because just like the days I burn at both ends and every time I write, every time I open my eyes, I am cutting out parts of myself just to give them to you. So shake the dust.
And take me with you when you do. For none of this has ever been for me. All that pushes and pulls it pushes for you.

So grab this world by its clothespins, and shake it out again and again. And jump on top and take it for a spin.
And when you hop off, shake it again. For this is yours.

Make my words worth it.

Make this not just another poem that I write. Not just another poem like just another night that sits heavy above us all. Walk into it. Breath it in. Let it crash through the halls of your arms like the millions of years of millions of poets coursing like blood, pumping and pushing, making you live, shaking the dust. So when the world knocks at your front door, clutch the knob tightly and open on up. And run forward. Run forward as fast and as far as you must. Run into its widespread greeting arms with your hands outstretched before you, fingertips trembling though they may be."

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Songs from under the river Anis Mojgani has somehow managed to ink the softness of his voice on paper. So its fitting that we are off to the races with his ever so popular, and moving Come Closer

Come closer.
Come into this.
You are quite the beauty.
If no one has ever told you that before,
know that right now: you are quite the beauty.
There is joy in how your mouth dances with your teeth
Your smiles are simply signs of how sacred your life actually is.
He made you and he was happy.

I can’t even read this without magically hearing Anis’s beautiful voice in my head. When he speaks, it feels like everything has found a way to be okay. And this collection is just as soothing. It is a delicate snapshot of fragile moments. Yet, it is unapologetic in its emotional turbulence. We go from soft whispers of love to the brokenness of his immigrant father, who dreams in English or Farsi, or sometimes both. He who left his land before his people were slaughtered. And Anis wonders if his father feels like he ran from something, wonders if his father works as hard as he does as a self-imposed penance for that feeling, pushing the shovel to build prayers that stand like shrines.

In the same book, through Quentin, we get a heartbreaking confession.



I drive sixty through residential streets,
praying to hit a child,
so that they may stay forever an angel,
and stay forever full of night, and light, and crayons, and simple outstretched limbs trying to pick up way too much way too fast, forgetting what it means to be a person.

These two come some way after a powerful piece that sets the pace for the rest of the book - Here am I, a poem about the treasure that is childhood dreams. That we all grow up, and we forget. 


That we all wanted to be something
That we all became something

But this book is polarising. It is as electrifying as it is gentle. And as vivid as it gets, sometimes I ‘got’ nothing at all.
Most of his poems are highly symbolical and metaphorical. And a poem like The moon was a backyard just passes by me. It’s too layered and laboured to click for me.
Even some love poems here are a bit much honestly. Like from you are the sea or Love is not a science . I get it, she is this and that and that and this. Then that thing is like another thing, and some place is like this thing. And the woman is like all of it. Whatever.

That’s not saying this isn’t a great book. It quite well is.
I really really like some of the poems here.
Some just fly by, and I get lost trying to make sense of it. But that doesn’t matter, because the hits drown everything out. Making this a hazy, dreamy, heartfelt book for the ages.
Okay. Off to youtube now to watch him perform again.

[Benjamin Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came to me as a bolt from the sky
dropped on my desk from the hands of a 12 year old girl explaining that she had placed it on hold but her mother would not let her check it out
This raised so many questions, but I didn't ask them I pounced I drank her denied cup of poetry I feasted on the words and melodies her mother thought not prudent to her eyes

I read this book in three sittings. Two at breakfast two with my son two where I read aloud two where I encountered poems not for the first time three where I was sad to be done two because there was no more time and one because there were no more words.

Only then did I return to my questions.

How did this girl whose mother denied her this book come to know of its existence. She put it on hold asked for it directly knew and anticipated its existence only for it to be snatched away. What curiosity brought her here. Her curiosity must linger at tinted shop windows have holes it its knees from stooping into the small places have dirt in its fingernails that is always new must make marks on the cell walls to count the times such a mother imprisoned it. How could a mother who would not let her read this book allow her to discover its existence

I first discovered the author on a rabbit hole, which still calls, which expounded on sea lions between sittings. They swim in cursive.

Such a curiosity must have such rabbit holes memorized or scribbled on scraps and stuffed in deep pockets waiting for the moment when none of the guards are looking. What jailer denies their ward a book but lets them watch the thing on youtube. It is of some matter, but not of mine.

For I was denied no such feast, I do not mark my walls, I open thrift shops where all the knees are missing. I watch for lightning bolts indoors, not caring whether they spring from the hammer of a god or hands of a child.

[Amanda Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

It was lovely, coming back to these poems after so long away. I first saw Anis perform online, and begged my friend who had some input in our college campus programming to try to get him to campus for a performance. Must’ve been 2011, because I got a copy of The Feather Room autographed by him, and he had called it his “new book.”

This collection will naturally be more disjointed than one written/devised all at once - I still enjoyed each poem like peering through a window, looking at a scene set before me.

The opening of “For Those Who Can Still Ride In An Airplane For The First Time” hits a lot different now that I’m closer to 35 than not.

“The Fisherman” has no business hitting me as hard as it does.

And “Shake the Dust” will always bring me back to that wistful, eternal optimism than enters your body in the junior year of college. I can smell the humidity of the quad on that first evening of the school year.

[Matthew Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anis Mojgani's poetry has had such an incredible influence on me. When he is on, which is almost always, he is really, really on.

This collection of some of his most popular work didn't disappoint. Although he often wanders into unnecessarily bizarre territory, the moments he gets right are electric. Though his work does communicate better live, this was an enjoyable collection to read.

[Julius Spin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classics from someone who is (imo) one of the best poetry slammers of all time. The book has a lovely feel to it. Even the choice in paper, font, everything seems carefully added to have that energy Anis brings to the table. And with so many strong poems that transcend the idea that poems only work on stage or on paper, this is a must have. Beautiful, strong and smart.

[Russell Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun, crazy, gloomy, loving, and heartwarming. I didn’t understand all of the poems, but enjoyed this nonetheless. Mojgani, you may have a new fan.

“watching
you stood back
hands dripping
wiped across your legs
stared at it
marvelling in the sunlight
at how easy it was to do this
how much the rocks wanted
to be something”

 

[Jabiz Raisdana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to Mojgani through a poetry class I was taking with Phil Kaye. Phil shared Come Closer with us and I fell in love. I showed the Youtube clip from Portland to everyone I know. I was pleasantly surprised to see this collection start with that poem.

I enjoyed so many lines and poems all the way through until the end with Shake The Dust. The collection has been ear marked and on the shelf.

[MA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anis is brilliant. I laughed during this, but I also felt warm and light and heavy at the same time? He captures things and puts them out in I don’t even have the word for it. But, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to read his other works. So clever and witty.

[Sara! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked a lot of these poems, but I think the best description of this collection and Mojgani’s style can be summed up with this tweet:

“We get it poets: things are like other things” @shutupmikeginn

3.5 stars.

[Daniel Heimstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times childlike descriptions of life that is fascinating. Some poems became a bit too abstract for me. But others express a childlike wonder and description of life that in some ways are relatable.

Anis Mojangi’s spoken word can be found on YouTube. I recommend checking them out.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just heard Mojgani read his own work for the first time and was blown away by his creativity and his spoken-word type delivery. This is the first collection I've read and it has combination of early and new work, which is a good mix. (New as of ten years ago, that is.) I will be reading more!

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite collections

[Ryan Coker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watching a Anis Mojgani video years ago really introduced me to spoken word poetry. I am happy to report that his work also translates well to text.

[Debjyoti Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved most of the poems. Must read if you like Anis's spoken word performance. A few of them I felt average, may be because of the expectation built by the ones I loved.

[Amanda H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable :)

[Areli Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some poems are great. Some are okay. Some are blah.

[Svetlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Amazing. Never giving up my copy.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and heartfelt

[Michael Alan Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's actually perfection. Surreal and perfect.

[Jean Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry. Anis is simply wonderful.

[Michaela Klučiarová · Rating 5 out of 5]

this have made me feel so so much <3

[Colin Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best of Anis but it’s still an enjoyable read and has a few of his most famous poems within it!

[Salty Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fucking hell - this is pure brilliance!