storyTeller/magicMaker

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SHORT BIO:

Multi-disciplinary storyteller Caits Meissner uses an exciting blend of poetry, music, performance and visual art to deliver poignant testaments to the complexities of the human spirit. Caits has moved audiences from street corners to Columbia University, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe to Rikers Island. Winner of the OneWorld Poetry Contest, Caits attended the 2008 inaugural Pan-African Literary Forum in Accra, Ghana where she studied under Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa and other luminaries from the literary African diaspora. In addition to her own self-released work, she has been published in various literary journals and has shared sets with musicians such as Immortal Technique, Grandmaster Caz, Boot Camp Clik and many others.

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LONG BIO:

Among titles that have been suggested throughout the years, poetess (naw, too gender-specific), artivist (uh-uh, too pretentious), none seem to fit as snug as returning to her first title: storyteller. Whether spinning pictures through poetry, music performance or visual art, Albany raised, Brooklyn based Caits (Caitlin) Meissner paints poignant testaments to the complexities of the human spirit.

As a performance poet, Caits has featured at some of the country’s most important spoken word venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and louderArts. Her expressive delivery of words led to solid standing in New York City’s underground music community. She has shared sets with Immortal Technique, Grandmaster Caz, Boot Camp Clik, M1 of Dead Prez and has been featured on albums by several heavy weight producers in the hip hop/electronic genre worldwide.

On the page, Caits’ work does not lose its ability to captivate and transform. Her work has been published in the anthologies His Rib and Got Poetry 2007, as well as several other literary journals. In 2007, Caits was a finalist for the Poets & Writers sponsored Amy Award and in 2008 was honored as the winner of the OneWorld Poetry Contest, attending the inaugural Pan-African Literary Forum in Accra, Ghana where she studied under Pulitzer Prize-winner Yusef Komunyakaa and other luminaries from the literary African Diaspora.

Caits is also committed to working with young people, delivering workshops at benefits, schools and prisons across the country. For two years Caits visioned and pioneered the Saturday Performance Series at The Lower Eastside Girls Club, a free community showcase that included a strong mentoring component.  In 2009, through Urban Arts Partnership, where she is currently serving as Site Coordinator and Teaching Artist for Facing History High School, Caits co-coached two high school poets to open the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway.

Proving there are no limits to her passion and engagement in the arts, Caits holds a BFA in Graphic Design from Pratt Institute, and is responsible for many of the visuals circulating the New York City artistic underground. She is currently focusing her attention on music, working on a number of projects that combine singing, orating and sampling as textures to bring her words to life. In every capacity, Caits Meissner’s journey is to live, and help others live, as magically as possible.