Ishe get ‘um, OK Poetry

Ishe get ‘um, OK Poetry is an event bringing together poetry readings and performances, language experiments, and music, including contributions by Eric Ellingsen, Mihret Kebede, Misrak Terefe, Abebaw Melaku, Demissew Mersha, Vinzenz Reinecke, Tadele Tewodros, and the Addis Taem Band. Organised by Eric Ellingsen and Mihret Kebede, the event takes place on occasion of Jan Meda – Großes Feld, an art festival hosted by the Institut für Raumexperimente, 13–15 December 2012, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Short biographies
Eric Ellingsen co-directed the Institut für Raumexperimente at UdK, Berlin from 2009 to 2014. He established Species of Space in 2009 as a platform through which art, architecture, writing and performance can converge through spatial practices. He publishes creative and critical writing regularly, and gives performance/lectures. Some of his long-term projects involve collaborations with a retired police sketch artist, a Turkish shoe cobbler, translators, a sound engineer, a dance choreographer, an artist and a sign language instructor, and a food systems planner.

Mihret Kebede is an artist, poet, and the founding director of the Netsa Art Village artist collective in Addis Ababa. Renowned for her poetry readings and experimental artworks, Kebede is a founding member of Tobiya Poetic Jazz Group and is featured on the Tobiya Poetic Jazz DVD, Vol.1.

Abebaw Melaku is a poet and journalist. He is a founding member of Tobiya Poetic Jazz Group and a radio journalist affiliated with the Ethiopian radio show Addis Zema. He published a volume of poetry called Keradion in 2007 and an audio poetry CD in 2008.

Demissew Mersha is an Ethiopian poet who has been active in the Addis Ababa poetry scene for over 13 years. He has contributed to different group publications with other writers and is featured on the Tobiya Poetic Jazz DVD, Vol.1. He is also a founding member of the Tobiya Poetic Jazz Group.

Vinzenz Reinecke is an artist, writer, stonemason, poet, traveller, chess player, musician, and storyteller. Before he moved to Berlin to study at the Institut für Raumexperimente, he was a journeyman, travelling for three years and one day. During this time, he also worked for Canterbury Cathedral.

Misrak Terefe is an Ethiopian poet and the first female poet to publish a poetry VCD. She has contributed to different group publications with other writers and is featured on the Tobiya Poetic Jazz DVD, Vol.1. She is also a founding member of Tobiya Poetic Jazz Group, having been involved with the organisation since 2008.

Tadele Tewodros is an educator for hearing-impaired children, currently teaching at the Menelik Elementary School in Addis Ababa. Tewodros will graduate with an MA in Special Needs Education from Addis Ababa University in 2015. He performed his own poems using sign language during the event Ishe get ‘um, OK Poetry.

Addis Taem Band, established by six young musicians in 2011, blends together the instruments and techniques of traditional and modern music. More recently, they have worked with Tobiya Poetic Jazz Group, and the band can be found performing in a variety of venues in both Addis Ababa and other parts of Ethiopia.