african american

Track

Eady, Cornelius. The Gathering of My Name. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1991.

Track

Murillo, John. Up Jump the Boogie. New York: Cypher Books, 2010.

Reading

Lucille Clifton reads poems published from 1969 to 1980. Her reading also includes exciting performances of drafts and unpublished poems.

Reading

Lucille Clifton reads poems on many subjects, including family and illness, as well as a series of Rastafarian-inspired poems about the life of the Biblical figure Mary. In addition to poems, Clifton reads excerpts from Generations: A Memoir and her children's book Sonora Beautiful.

Reading

Yusef Komunyakaa reads widely from his poetry published in the 1980s, including many poems from Dien Cai Dau (1988). He also reads poems that would soon thereafter be collected in Magic City (1992) and Neon Vernacular: New and Selected Poems (1993).

Reading

In this performance, Lucille Clifton reads primarily from Next: New Poems and begins the performance with an excerpt from her children's book Sonora Beautiful. Clifton remarks that this is her first public reading of the poem series "Ten Oxherding Pictures."

Reading

Michael S. Harper reads from across his first four books, all published in the years shortly before this reading: Dear John, Dear Coltrane (1970), History Is Your Own Heartbeat (1971), Song: I Want a Witness (1972), and Debridement (1973). Harper shares poems that delve into the loss of children, racial inequality, and the Vietnam War, mixing them with poems that express his love for his wife and family.

Reading

Ai reads solely from the manuscript for Sin, a collection published the year following this reading. She briefly discusses her time at the University of Arizona, where she was a student during the late 1960s.

Reading

Ishmael Reed performs poems from his extensive body of work, including several unpublished poems. He remarks that his reading will "start out with a song and end with a song"--that is, with his poems "Betty's Ball Blues" and "I'm Running for the Office of Love" as set to music by Taj Mahal and Allen Toussaint.

Reading

Primus St. John reads from Love is not a Consolation; It Is a Light (1982) and Skins on the Earth(1976).

Reading

In this reading at Pima Community College, Ai reads poems that would later be collected in Cruelty (1973), some of which differ from the published versions. She also reads several poems that would remain uncollected and talks about her experiences in graduate school.

Reading

Poet, playwright, and novelist Owen Dodson reads a range of poems from his distinguished career. As he introduces his poems, Dodson reflects on his consciousness as a writer, from his undergraduate days at Bates College to his engagement with spirituality, Civil Rights, and social justice.

Reading

Quincy Troupe reads poems appearing in Avalanche (1996) and Choruses (1999).

Reading

Cyrus Cassells reads from The Mud Actor, Soul Make a Path Through Shouting, and Beautiful Signor. He also reads an early version of an uncollected poem, "The Ruins in Total Eclipse," that would be published ten years after this reading.

Reading

Cornelius Eady reads poems from Victims of the Latest Dance Craze (1986) and The Gathering of My Name (1991), many of which focus on dancing, jazz musicians, and the pervasive racial injustice experienced by Black Americans.

Reading

This event, part poetry reading and part jazz concert, pairs the work of poet Nathaniel Mackey with the music of jazz pianist Marilyn Crispell, featuring solo performances by each artist as well as two collaborative performances.

Reading

Rita Dove reads from her collection American Smooth: Poems (2004).

Reading

Camille T. Dungy reads primarily from What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison (2006). This reading was originally given with Richard Siken and Heriberto Yépez as part of the Next Word Series.

Reading

John A. Williams reads poems from an early manuscript that would eventually come to form his collection Safari West (1998). He then reads from his novel !Click Song (1982), investigating issues of race, colonialism, and diaspora. Both books are winners of the American Book Award.

Reading

Rosemary Catacalos reads poems on themes such as identity, quirks of memory, borders and border towns, the effects of speaking three languages (Greek, Spanish, and English) as a child, and the Day of the Dead.

Reading

James Hannaham reads the prologue and opening chapter of his novel Delicious Foods (2015).

Reading

Poet Douglas Kearney and percussionist/electronic musican Val Jeanty present a collaborative performance titled "Fodder," which combines poetry and music at the 2017 Thinking Its Presence Conference. The poems primarily come from Kearney's Buck Studies (2016).

Reading

Former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove reads poems from her book Playlist for the Apocalypse (2021). This reading was presented as part of the 2022 Tucson Humanities Festival. 

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