Today: Tuesday, April 4 | 7 p.m. Literary Salon at the Elmwood Village Inn: Honu House – 203 St. James Place (corner of Elmwood Avenue, Free). Reading/experience tonight at Karen Powell’s Bed and Breakfast -Honu House Elmwood Village Inn Literary Salon with Alexis De Veaux and friends. It promises to be an amazing event of collaboration and celebration.
Alexis De Veaux , Ph. D. is the author of Warrior Poet, A Biography of Audre Lorde (W. W. Norton, 2004); Spirits In The Street (Doubleday, 1973); Na-ni (Harper and Row, 1973); Don’t Explain , a biography of jazz great, Billie Holiday (Harper and Row, 1980); two independently published poetry works, Blue Heat: A Portfolio of Poems and Drawings (1985) and Spirit Talk (1997); a second children’s book, An Enchanted Hair Tale (Harper and Row, 1987). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications including Essence Magazine; Ms . Magazine; The New York Village Voice and many others. At present she is an Associate Professor of Women’s Studies, the Department of Women’s Studies, at the University at Buffalo. (photo: Interior of Honu House… reason enough to check put the reading!)
Kathy Engel is a poet, a communications/strategic planning consultant, a producer for social justice, peace and human rights organizations, and the mother of two daughters. Since 1979 she has been a full-time advocate/organizer/consultant/producer/writer engaged in building social justice, human rights and peace organizations and campaigns. She has worked extensively as a bridge between organizations and individuals who may not ordinarily work together or engage in dialogue with the purpose of building multi-racial/cross-class progressive institutions and projects, and maximizing the effectiveness and creativity of progressive efforts. Her work is based on a commitment to breaking boundaries, and infusing the imagination and thinking of the artist and the intellectual into the strategic planning for grassroots community, national and international media efforts.
Suheir Hammad, who hails from Brooklyn, has been called “a new voice with an authentic blend of language that’s her own, and music that belongs to the streets” (Elmaz Abinader, author of Children of theRoojme). Suheir’s appearance on the debut episode of HBO’s Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry merited generous media praise. Her work has been published in numerous periodicals, including The Amsterdam News, Essence, STRESS Hip-Hop Magazine and the Middle East Report; in anthologies including New to North America (Burning Bush Press), Listen Up! (Ballantyne), The Space Between Our Footsteps ( Simon & Schuster) and 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History (Crown Publishers). Suheir’s produced plays include Blood Trinity (NY Hip-Hop Theatre Festival)and ReOrientalism (Center for Cultural Exchange). Suheir’s poetry has been featured on the BBC World Service and National Public Radio. She has also appeared at universities and prisons throughout the United States. Suheir’s new poetry book ZaatarDiva (Cypher Books) is available in stores now.
Gale Jackson is a poet, writer, librarian and cultural historian who received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for her work in griot traditions and whose work has appeared in many publications and anthologies including Callalou, African American Review, Artist and Influence and Essence. She is the author of MeDea, Suite for Mozambique, Bridge Suite: Narrative Poems, A Khoisan Tale of Beginnings and Ends, and We Stand Our Ground , a collaboration with Kimiko Hahn and Susan Sherman. She currently serves on the faculty of Goddard College, as poet in residence in New York City Public Schools and as storyteller in residence at The Hayground School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.