Pharaoh Robinson

Pharaoh Robinson

Thursday, November 12, 2009

My 1st Book Interview with Twittermugshot.com


Artist Spotlight: Black Erotic Poet – Pharaoh Robinson
By
indigobluePublished: November 11, 2009


Black Erotic Author of SexSensual What’s up TwitMUG Fam this is Indigo Blue. As you know Twitter Mugshot keeps you up to date with your favorite Celebrities on Twitter. Today we’re showing luv by bringing you our FIRST EVER TwitterMugShot artist spotlight.

TM: Thank you for taking time out for participating in this interview it’s a pleasure to be able to speak with you today. Let’s go ahead and start with the introductions, please tell us your name.

Pharaoh: Thank you. I write under the pen name Pharaoh Robinson

TM: What’s the meaning of your name? How did you come up with it?

Pharaoh: Pharaohs were strong, powerful kings in Africa. I strive to be that. It was a screen-name for a website I joined about 6-7 years ago called Mochacity.com. I share my poetry on there as well as on yahoo 360. The name stuck and I embraced it.

TM: Where are you from?

Pharaoh: I am originally from Kansas. I relocated in 2004 to D.C. with forty dollars and a suitcase, sleeping on the floor. Humble beginings that left me humble, blessed and motivated.

TM: How long have you been writing poetry in general and erotic poetry?

Pharaoh: I have been writing poetry since my 4th or 5th grade teacher Mrs. Jones introduced poetry to me and gave me the book “Black Like Me” by Howard Johnson. I started writing erotic poetry in middle school. I guess some boy found their dads or big brothers playboys and porn videos stash enticing and intriguing. I found the short stories in porn magazines more vivid than the nude pictures. I’d flip straight to the stories. My early erotica was much more subtle and naïve. It was more romantic in nature, kisses in waterfalls, just being attentive to girls/women. I questioned myself then why I was so intrigued by human love and our sexuality. It was never uncomfortable with me to seek through writing, but sharing was a no-no. I didn’t want to “get in trouble” so to speak. Twelve or Thirteen and talking about what I was talking meant a but whooping. I knew it was taboo.

TM: What motivates your poetic creativity?

Pharaoh: I am motivated and inspired my life in general. All aspects intrigue me on some level.

TM: Why an erotic book by a black man?

Pharaoh: Because it’s who I am, first of all. I’m an erotic, abstract, complicated at times, creative, loving, sexual, sensual, spontaneous, and a loving black man comfortable in his own skin. Secondly, we need it. This book is the missing black masculine interpretation of sex, erotica, love, black cool, and romance. We need this book our black women need this book and black men will related to this book.


TM: How do women respond to your poetry? Have you ever used your poetry to get women?

Pharaoh: All women respond differently.. Some are taken aback. Some are completely turned on and out, infatuated with my writing. Many feel a sense of relieve that I write erotica that is tastefully done. I think it reveals a power that black men don’t even know they have or rarely tap into anymore. No, I’ve never used my poetry to get women, I’ve been accused of it. But I was writing erotica long before I started to share it. I started to share my writing in college at poetry readings/ciphers. They called me a freak, horny, and so on. The thing is I am rarely horny when I write. Now I might write something that turns me on and that’s what women get to read the same thing that made me horny.

TM: Do you use personal experiences in your erotic writings?

Pharaoh: I rarely ever do. I am usually creating fantasy even I have not explored, I am pretty out of the box when I write, no boundaries except ones what I want to set.

TM: What is the title of your book? Why?

Pharaoh: The title of the book is “Sexsensual ”. I created or coined the word Sexsensual from giving a lot of thought to what my work meant to me on many levels and reading Walter Mosley’s book “Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel”. I love that book. It is the ultimate mental joyride of sexual human emotion on a multitude of levels. I’ve read it 10 plus times and from researching romantic poets and black poets. I think I write from a very existential perspective. My poetry is about intrapersonal discovery of what sexuality is and can be. Sexsensual means: The discovery of one’s personal sexual sensual enlightenment in one’s life. That sounds like something a sexual Buddha would say, and well he would lol. It embraces the mental, spiritual, and physical aspect that makes us human beings and sexual.

TM: You model right? Is that you on your promotional bookcover?

Pharaoh: Yes I do mostly freelance nothing major. That is me on the cover.

TM: What kind of erotic poetry and short stories can we expect to read?

Pharaoh: You can expect my work to take you on mental journey that is revealing, uninhibited, abstract and very original. It will make you wonder, blush, turn you on, and maybe turn you out on a mental level. It will represent the missing link in romance, sensuality, and love-making a lot of times today, mental stimulation.

TM: Has any of your poetry been published?

Pharaoh: Yes, actually the published piece is not even erotic. The poem is non-erotic. It is a poem about the 1940’s lynchings of black men entitled “Trees Like Me”. It was inspired by me seeing the pictures of black men hanging from trees in the South and the Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit”.


TM: Do you write your own poems or do you collaborate with others?

Pharaoh: All that I write is my orginal work. I write it so often and fast that I don’t memorize it. I do not collaborate.

TM: What is your poetry about and what image do you think your poetry conveys?

Pharaoh: My poetry is simply being “human”. Everything concerning us good and bad, civil and uncivil, animalistic and humanistic, sexual and sensual.

TM: Tell us about your upcoming book and when should we expect it?

Pharaoh: Sexsensual will be out January 2010, my website will be up then too. You can expect this book to be that book you are like I have never read anything like this before. I think I have my own writing style. It’s my gift to somehow tap into human emotions and play the song of the heart in that moment. That’s when you capture and hold a reader, and they are then not reading but mentally in tune seeing, feeling, touching, tasting, smelling, and absorbing your words. The book will empower men and women to be creative and more mentally in tune in their approach to sex. It will be a powerful book nothing the less whether I sell one book or a million books.

TM: Is this your first interview or do you have some other articles/stories or video links about you posted somewhere for public viewing?

Pharaoh: This is my very first interview! And I will give you the first interview when the book is printed too. You have my word, cell, and my email address! I will do some “You Tube” like reading of my word once the book is printed on my website.

TM: Who are your favorite authors and why?

Pharaoh: Mosley truly inspires me. He is a profound dynamic writer. His books should be a partof educational English and writing classes, despite content. Like Me” author Howard Johnson. It was the first novel I read and inspired me to write. That book is another book that should be a part of American history. I read a lot. Currently, I am reading “Paradise Lost” and “The Devine Comedy”.

TM: Who are your artistic influences? How do you differ from other authors upcoming and mainstream and do you share any similarities?

Pharaoh: I am influenced by old school artist more than anything. Singers like Etta Mae James, Tammy Terrell, Same Cooke, Marvin Gaye, blues singer Denise LaSalle, Lenny Williams, Maxwell to name a few. Photography like Gordon Parks, and human beings in gerneral are artistic influence for me. I’m a people watcher. I think I differ on so many levels. My work is not trendy. I have never written for anyone or any following just myself. My work expresses black male masculinity in a way it marries femininity. This is not sister-girl type writing, it’s not street-lit, all of which I read. I’m often compared to the author ZANE, because of the sexual nature of my work. We are however very different.

TM: Are you looking for an independent publishing deal or a major publishing deal?

Pharaoh: I am not looking to do a major deal, but I would not turn down the opportunity if it was right. I want people to read my work period. I will still share my work on social sites if never get a deal. MY fans gave me my start. I haven’t put a book out yet and I have 23,500 fans on Tagged.com, and another 1,000 on Blackplanet. I will, however, self-publishthe first book. Sexsensual is a trilogy, one of three books. The first is erotic poetry, the second is an erotic poetry and short stories book. The poems will be interludes to the short stories with the same title. And the third installment will be the erotic novel.

TM: Have you ever performed your poetry in live performances such as spoken word? What type of experience have you had? Where?

Pharaoh: I tried sharing my erotic work in college it was excepted with mixed emotions. Spoken-word is very popular. Spoken word artist don’t always embrace erotic poetry. Most who do or try erotic spoken-word have no vocabulary or concept at all at times. And if done wrong it can be totally distasteful and not well received. I think my work is more vividly seen when a person reads my works.

TM: Do you have a demo or press kit, or electronic press kit, or any other promotional materials?

Pharaoh: I’m a “techy” and right now the internet is my number one tool right now, social cites. I get to go right to people to show and tell them about my work. And my handheld T-Mobile G1 is my all day tool. I do alot of work on it, even write on it.

TM: Have you ever thought about becoming a songwriter?

Pharaoh: Not no out right. However, if an artist read some of my work and was like I want to turn this poem into a song or give me some poetic lyrical content, I’d do it in a heartbeat!

TM: Are you working on any special projects and or collaborating with anyone?

Pharaoh: My first book is my special project. I am not collaborating at the moment, but if it was right I would.


TM: Are you on Twitter, FB, or MySpace?

Pharaoh: I am on Twitter find by searching @Pharaoh78. I will launch my Facebook page in December closer to print.

TM: Do you have a good following? Where can fans read your poetry?

Pharaoh: I would say so for a book that’s not out yet. My fans are loyal all 23,000 plus on my Tagged.com page. I’ve complied a personal mailing list of 500 plus fans too. I amassed those following in less than nine months. I have some that are like I will buy twenty books. I’m like we’ll see. I hope so! I can be found of Tagged.com, or people can go to my blog spot http://pharaohrobinson.blogspot.com/ they can comment and even rate my poetry work that will be found in my book.

TM: Who is your fan base? How do you show love and respond to your fans?

Pharaoh: My fan base in terms of age is around 22 to 55 year old women single, married, bi-sexual, and some gay fans. I have few male fans right now. I show my fans love, first off, by writing quality work. I interact with them as long as it doesn’t get too personal. I try to keep it business-like. However, writing erotica makes some readers very curious.

TM: What are the craziest things fans have ever said or done?

Pharaoh: Wow, some fans have actually admitted to coming from reading my work, pure mental stimulation. One woman admitted she prints my work off and well, let’s my poetry works well with her BOB (Battery Operated Boyfriend), and she reads my work while using it. Some women join my mailing list and send their own poems to me, pictures, and videos. I take it as simply meaning they like my work.

TM: How do you feel about the state of black male and black female relationships?

Pharaoh: This is such a complicated multidimensional question. I would say the state is the same as it has been since slavery, in trouble. The destruction of the black family and black love have not been repaired. It has seemly been replaced with too many black men and women independent of each other, naïve understandings of love, family, and deep frustration on both sides for black men and women.. We need to not get back to our roots of love, but create a new foundation. Things bigger than status, money, relationship hierarchy, not being a playa or playerette. At the end of the day, Black women love and follow the lead of black men. If there were no pimps, thugs, drug dealers, disrespect toward women, and false images of the successful. We’d have fewer women feeling the need to have a thug, a drugs deal, and or a pimp. As men we can set the tone for our women. They will follow, they want to follow us proudly. This is not a slight to feminist. Following our lead is like dancing someone must lead. At the end of the day it is woman standing by our side.

TM: Has anyone ever criticized your poetry or misunderstood it?

Pharaoh: Yes, and I let critics do what they do best criticize. I don’t care I don’t write for them, never have never will. I write for me. I just so happens some people like what I write. So I write for them too. I’ve had people come down on me, while others are like hell I need to spice up my marriage with ideas from your work.

TM: What type of response do you get from your fans?

Pharaoh: Fans love my work. A lot of them were never into poetry, let alone erotic poetry. And they are fans now. I love them and they love me. We are great in our world.

TM: How do men feel about your erotic poetry?

Pharaoh: Heterosexual men are like hey, I ain’t never read nothing like this. However, I feel you. Can I post your work on my page with your copyright? Some print it off and admit they recite it to women. I do have homosexual fans. I get asked to write homoerotism, I can’t. Okay I won’t write it. I can do anything I put my mind to. I’m heterosexual so I chose to write about that sexual genre of art. I hope men buy the book and get some ideas of how to tap into their creative side, or hell flat out use one of my stories or poems as the blueprint.

TM: Do you think your poetry can help stimulate a relationship?

Pharaoh: That is the foundation of my writing to mentally stimulate. It will definitely do that and open new horizons in relationships. And understand not every fantasy has to be lived out. However, even the power of talking and telling your lover during sex your fantasy can be extremely powerful, like role-playing.

TM: Is your poetry more geared to singles, couples, or both?

Pharaoh: It’s for mature adults’ period.

TM: Bonus Question: How do you feel about how black women are being portrayed in rap lyrics, and music videos?

Pharaoh: I think the depiction could be more artistically creative. It’s not creative or beautiful. It buys into the stereotype that Black sex, romance, and love are nasty too much. We create the vision that we want the world to see us as, and we can do better.Again we black men set the tone. Those women want our attention, black male attention. Look when black men were “power to the people” so were sistas, we gangsta rap and hip-hop took over and said I need a woman like this, that, and the other. What did the women in the videos do? We have a strong blakc family man as President of the United States. What are black women saying “I need my Barak Obama?” We lead…

TM: Do you have any challenges you’d like to share?

Pharaoh: That’s a book in itself. I’ll just say moving from Kansas to Washington, DC was a culture shock for me as a black boy coming to a largely black metro area. I didn’t know such a thing existed. I called my momma like “Ma, I don’t see any white people.” I was living in Capital Heights, Maryland at the time sleeping on the floor, renting a room out. I was in shock. I’ve spent night crying, finding myself, and at the end of it all it comes in the form of writing. Use your gifts and talents to find yourself, your calling and run after it don’t walk.

TM: How would you define the word “success”?

Pharaoh: Success is not money. I’ll keep this short I have a bucket-list, a realistic one. And if I can complete that list, I am a success, and I’m well on my way. Success is the love and care I give my daughters, family, and friends. Success is living a long healthy life to me and most of all loving people.

TM: What Writers 101 advice do you have to offer new authors striving for success?

Pharaoh: Stopping writing for success and just write. Write because you are hungry to share your work with others, because you have something to say. That is the ultimate success as a writer to me.

TM: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Pharaoh: Married and a successful. I am single right now and focsued on my career goals. I can’t wait whoever she is. I might already know her.

TM: Any last words?

Pharaoh: It’s been a pleasure. To my fans continue to be free in your mind if nowhere else. Love and make love like love is gone tomorrow. Support my book and God bless.

TM: TM thanks you for taking the time to shed light on your career as an upcoming author. We look forward to hearing more of your poetry! We don’t wish you good luck, we wish you SUCCESS!



Contact:

Pharaoh Robinson

Pharaoh.Robinson@gmail.com

http://www.tagged.com/pharaoh007

http://pharaohrobinson.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/PHARAOH78