The poet Ashley M. Jones wants far more than financial reparations to compensate for centuries of slavery and its legacies — though she would take a check. To her, true reparations require an enormous cultural evolution.“You think money can ever repay what you stole?” she asks in her third poetry collection, “Reparations Now!,” which was published in … Continue reading Alabama’s Next Poet Laureate Writes Searingly About Race (via NY Times)
Twenty years ago, a group of friends gathered in a candle-lit living room. With the warmth of D’Angelo, Erykah Badhu, and Jill Scott playing, they shared food and ideas before turning down the music and turning up their talent. The friends performed their own poetry, keenly listening and offering critique. In time, artists from these … Continue reading 20 years strong, Spitfire Poetry continues to foster the spoken word community in Savannah (via Savannah Morning News)
Full Title: "Grammy® Nominee Eric Alexandrakis Releases Musical Spoken Word Album About The Benefits of Music Therapy (via EIN Presswire) Grammy® Nominated artist Eric Alexandrakis has released yet another component from his critically acclaimed Terra series of releases. Alexandrakis' latest release, Terra: Music Is The Medicine Which Keeps My World Spinning In Harmony [Living With Post-Cancer … Continue reading Eric Alexandrakis’ Spoken Word Album Touches on Benefits of Music Therapy (via EIN Presswire)
University of Arizona English Professor Susan Briante is the winner of the 2021 Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism from the Poetry Foundation.The award, which includes a $7,500 prize, honors the best book-length works of criticism published in the prior calendar year; the award recognizes biographies, essay collections, and critical editions that consider the subject of poetry or poets.Briante received the award … Continue reading UArizona Professor Susan Briante Receives Prestigious Poetry Award (via U of Arizona)
Safia Elhillo was a freshman in high school when she started keeping a diary to record her heartbreaks. All of her entries were poems, so if her parent ever found them, she could hide behind the metaphors and pretend she wasn’t dating.Younger poets of color now look up to Elhillo as a trailblazer. Her latest … Continue reading New to poetry? These poets will help you get started (via LA Times)
When Cin the Poet looks at her years to come as a rapper, writer and spoken word artist, she sees no limits. She even has speeches prepared for an eventual Grammy, and one for a Nobel Peace Prize. "It's limitless," she said. "I can go as far as I put the work into it."A major chunk of … Continue reading A life of Cin has no limits for Birmingham rapper and spoken word artist (via Montgomery Advertiser)
As the sun slipped behind the Himalayas, the poet picked his way down to the rocky riverbed. He looked left and right to make sure nobody was watching. Then, to the burbling water, he began to read:Each word spoken here meets censors and checksYesterday the ones sermonizing on dignityHave today rude daggers kissing their necks.All … Continue reading As Kashmir Crackdown Endures, Poets Stifle Their Verses (via NY Times)
If there's one theme that permeates Emily Cooper’s debut poetry collection Glass, writes James Patterson, it’s the question of ownership. Who owns what and to what extent are we are allowed to take ownership of the different narratives and identities that shape our lives?By beginning on this premise, Cooper is able to weave between big ideas … Continue reading Heart of Glass: Emily Cooper on her debut poetry collection (via RTE)
The pioneering Jamaican dub poet Jean “Binta” Breeze has died aged 65, her agents have confirmed.Breeze, considered one of the most important and influential contemporary poets, was a regular performer at literary festivals in both the UK and across the world.She had trained at the Jamaican School of Drama and began writing poetry in the … Continue reading Jamaican dub poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze dies aged 65 (via The Guardian)
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $750,000 grant to an international team led by Kwame Dawes, professor of English, and Lorna Dawes, associate professor of University Libraries, to expand an online portal for African poetry.Initially established in 2017, the African Poetry Digital Portal documents the work of African poets and provides digital access to related creative … Continue reading Mellon grant to transform African poetry research, scholarship (via Nebraska Today)
