Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean, is a poet, playwright, electrifying performer, compassionate mentor and dedicated educator who travels the country performing his original works and inspiring young creative minds. A Texas Poet Laureate nominee and Ranked 25th in the world (Individual World Poetry Slam 2012), Outspoken Bean lives up to his stage name. He started performing spoken-word in 2003. In 2006, he made the poetry slam teams for both San Antonio and Houston. In his senior year at Prairie View A&M, Bean founded and coached the university’s first poetry slam team. In their first year, under Bean’s mentorship, they won the number one title in their region and went on to an impressive eighth place ranking in the country.
In addition to traveling the country performing, Bean has worked with the Harris County Department of Education, is a resident poet with Writers in the Schools, and is presented on the touring rosters for both Houston’s Young Audiences: Arts for Learning and Texas Commission for the Arts. He also serves as Program Director, Lead Coach and mentor for Meta-Four Houston, a non-profit that uses reading, creative writing, poetry and performance techniques to increase literacy, instill critical thinking, intersect cultures and inspire leadership in the youth with which they work.
Outspoken Bean will perform his new memoir Conversations, a group of short stories and poetry that will be completed while in residence at The Watermill Center. In addition to his performance at The Watermill Center, Outspoken Bean will perform his new work at Stony Brook University and at Sara Nightingale Gallery in Water Mill, NY, emphasizing the participatory effect of dialoguing with an audience.