Inspirational Talk with Toneal

Jasminum McMullen grew up in Oak Park, IL. It is in Oak Park that she remembers her earliest memory of writing at the age of 9. She began pursuing poetry in 2010 at The Show N Tell, a local art gallery and acoustic venue in Berwyn, IL until its close.  She is the two time champion of Berwyn Public Library’s series Poetry Idol, a mix of slam poetry and American Idol. In 2011 she released a recorded project titled The Reunification of Destiny and later featured at Ain’t She Sweet Café in Bronzeville. Her poetry has appeared on independent hip hop tracks and in three volumes of CRAM, a publication from chicagopoetry.com. Her latest publishing in CRAM 14: Journal of Modern Poetry earned her a 2013 Pushcart Prize nomination for her poem titled The Abandoned House.