Artist Statement:

Why do I write? It’s a question I often contemplate. And frankly, the answer is fairly simple. I write to make sense of my reality, and I write because I’m compelled. Here’s what I mean:

Poetry is my attempt at taming the entropy of this existence. It forces my senses to slow down long enough to find the thread of the moment so I might weave together a tapestry of now to be preserved for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

I write because I believe in the power of storytelling. I believe stories shape our reality. I believe stories have the power to heal, to awaken, to empower, to free - they are what bring us together, and they have the power to tear us apart. Both of these truths exist simultaneously.

So I write because I feel compelled to add a tone of compassion to the overall narrative in today’s world. I write because I believe I must - to untangle the web of global heartbreak so that we might find the dew of truth suspended by a thread of hope.

“What truth” you ask?

This fundamental truth: we have more in common than we have differences.

We breathe the same air as those we may fear. We breathe the same air as those we may hate. So what divides us is the story we tell ourselves about the other, about the unknown. And the antidote to fear is curiosity with a splash of compassion. So here I am, showing my scars and the lessons embedded in their ridges so that I might inspire you to consider our sameness, our common denominator.

And here I am attempting to eff the ineffability of our existence so that we may find ourselves more curious than fearful, more open than closed off, more awestruck than disenchanted.

My poetry is a love letter to life, and not the romantic comedy type of love letter (although that occasionally finds its way into my poems through the line breaks), but a love letter that’s imbued with the feeling of a life well loved. One that pulls no punches and smiles at you through a bloody nose and chipped tooth.

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Bio:

Jaleel Mackey started writing poetry in 2002 - the year his therapist gifted him a notebook several months after his father was arrested and would eventually spend 9 years in prison. He was 12 years old, and thus began his therapeutic relationship with rhythm and meter.

In 2008, as an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California, he attended a Visions & Visions event featuring the award winning poet and postdoctoral fellow, Javon Johson. Jaleel would eventually seek Professor Johnson’s tutelage as a student of African American Popular Culture and Performance Studies. This is how Jaleel was introduced to Da Poetry Lounge: the birthplace of many prolific spoken word artists like IN-Q, Natalie Patternson, Yesika Salgado, Dante Basco, Shihan Van Clief, DJ Brutha Gimel, and Poetri Smith. These poets became his mentors, some became his friends, and his style is very much so informed by this collective in addition to the regularly visiting poets like Rudy Francisco, Jill Scott and more.

It was on a Tuesday night in 2010 at the Greenway Court Theatre in front of a sold out audience of over 100 when Jaleel graced the stage for the first time. He shared a poem called My Soul’s Confession that ended with a standing ovation and – admittedly – a few tears. This sparked his love affair with the stage and a microphone.

While still a student, Jaleel co-founded and sat as the co-president of a student run poetry collective called LoadedLanguage where he hosted and performed at weekly open mics called The Nook while regularly facilitating workshops for his fellow students.

During his senior year, he founded a record label called The Gntlmn’s Club, and after graduation he performed on stages in New York City, Los Angeles and the SF Bay Area while continuing to expand his repertoire to include hip-hop and R&B vocals in pursuit of a career in the music industry.

That is, until it all came to a screeching halt in 2014.

After a perfect storm of disagreements, shifting priorities and disappointment, he made the decision to get a “real job” and stopped performing entirely, though he never stopped writing.

Life decided he needed a little more life, and over the years, he’s built a mindfulness practice, a breathwork practice and a deeply spiritual life rooted in the exploration of the human condition and our relationship with the natural world. He writes about philosophy, spirituality, trauma, redemption, fatherhood, peace, forgiveness and compassion, and it’s safe to say that this time away from the stage has served him well.

For 10 years, he’s been amassing a treasure trove of musings with the eventual goal of publishing the collection under the title Rhymes Through Breath and Time.

In January of 2024, he returned to the stage at Satori’s First Friday Open Mic Night after a long hiatus from performing.

Today, Jaleel is an entrepreneur, a professional speaker, a facilitator, a teacher, a poet and a software sales professional. He has 2 beautiful children with his wife of nearly 8 years and is a resident of Aptos, California. He lives in the Forest of Nisene Marks: where the redwoods meet the ocean.