In this powerful and innovative book of poetry and wisdom, award-winning spoken-word poet, songwriter, and performer IN-Q inspires us to question everything we know and see around us and inside us, to discover what matters most.
"Poetry celebrates vulnerability as a strength rather than a weakness. It is a timeless form of storytelling that inspires connection and allows the audience to feel less alone. Experiencing ourselves through another person’s story creates empathy. And empathy is what the world needs most right now."—IN-Q
Raised by a single mother in Los Angeles, Adam Schmalholz, known as IN-Q—In Question— discovered his love for poetry through hip-hop. At nineteen, he started performing at Da Poetry Lounge and helped build it into the largest open mic in the country. Since then, IN-Q has traveled the world capturing the hearts and minds of millions.
Inquire Within is an accessible, rhythmic, and transformative reading experience. In-Q’s poetry contemplates universal issues of love, loss, pain, forgiveness, and belief, and speaks to our complicated lives today, offering us a different way to think about ourselves and our world. Imaginative and highly visual, this beautifully designed work of art reflects IN-Q’s unique sensibility and includes inspirational call outs to challenge our hearts and minds. Profound in its simplicity, incandescent in its power, Inquire Within emotionally delivers on every page.
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“In-Q shares his poetry with listeners in a powerfully engaging, intimate style. In the poem titled “Inquire Within,” his uplifting voice brings tears when he reveals how he decided to look within to find God—and succeeded. “85” is a joyous recounting of an elderly couple who still love the song “Staying Alive” and are alive because of love. In “Citizens United,” In-Q’s fury erupts, and word choices enhance his impact; for example, he says, “Citizens United is not a person and has no soul/The stock market is God, and it preys on the weak.” “The Wrong Side of History” is equally caustic as In-Q spews horrific facts about firearms, adding that water bottles are not allowed on planes, while people can carry guns everywhere. This is a masterful but not always a comfortable listen. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
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AudioFile