Ethereal/zen/Jazz/Fusion/Esoteric Spoken Word Artist, Writer, Producer

"Clinging to the coattails of inspiration
Hoping for some kind of deviation from expiration"

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Born in a small southern town named Jesup, GA, this 34 year old woman of the word began writing poetry at the tender age of 11 years old. Through her teenage and young adult years, Melanie continued to write and flourish in the art form. During this time, she began to accept that writing poetry was much more than just a hobby to her. Writing poetry was a significant part of her existence.

Melanie YeYo Carter is a poet who became a spoken word artist one night in 2006 when, while stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA, she stepped onto the stage at a little restaurant called Mary Helen's. By the time she walked away from the mic, YeYo had been born. By 2010, with the support of revolutionary poet and publisher Tichaona Chinyelu, YeYo published her first poetry collection, When Light Breaks Through (Whirlwind Publishing, 2010). Since then, Melanie YeYo Carter has become known for her raw and dynamic presence sharing the stage with the likes of  Tameka "Georgia Me" Harper, Red Storm, Ed Mabrey, heRO44, ThirdRail, Hope Flows and many others. She features at churches, schools and various poetry venues. Between features, slams, publications, cd projects and the public speaking she does as an HIV/AIDS advocate, her hands are usually quite full. But she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Once, YeYo was asked, “How would you describe yourself and your writing?” With traces of life experience shimmering in her eyes and the rawness on her tongue she’s become known for, she said: “I am life reporter. But, for short, you can simply call me a poet. At this point, I don’t know where this path of expression will lead me, but I do know I’m supposed to write my way there. I was blessed with the ability to make ugly look pretty, and sometimes, the pieces of myself and my life I put on the page hurts like all hell on the way out of my soul. But, if I can open one closed mind, heal one broken heart, awaken the conscious of humanity or perhaps save a life or two along the way, then I live, suffer and write with no regrets.

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