AN HBW GEM: Naomi Long Madgett

In 2017, HBW staff member Morgan McComb [2017-2019] spent extensive time with acclaimed poet, editor and educator Naomi Long-Madgett for our GEMS project. Created in 2013, GEMS is an initiative created to bring increased awareness to important but often lesser-known Black writers and their work. McComb traveled to Southfield, Michigan, to interview Madgett. That interview became the basis of a video tribute to Madgett, which is available here. […]

“My Professor’s Workshops “-A Tribute to Gerald Barrax

[By: Lenard D. Moore]  I need to visit those who weigh heavily on my mind.  As a result of the progression of years and the busyness of daily living, I don’t always get the opportunity to reach out.  For the past two or three months, however, I have constantly considered stopping by my former poetry professor’s house, which is only about eight minutes from mine.  […]

Furious Flower 25th Celebration: Day Two

Below is a response to Furious Flower’s  25th Anniversary Celebration from former and current HBW staff members and affiliates:   Portia Owusu, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor / ACES Fellow of English in the Department of English at Texas A&M University:   The second day of the celebration demonstrated the community aspect of the Furious Flower Center since activities involved both invited guests and the general public. The […]

Furious Flower 25th Anniversary Celebration: Day One

Furious Flower Poetry Center has been at the forefront of Black poetry for 25 years. As the nation’s first academic center for Black poetry, Furious Flower was founded on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and born out of a 1994 poetry festival titled “Furious Flower: A Revolution in African American Poetry,” organized by scholar Joanne Gabbin. The festival brought thirty presenters […]