Tag: Poetry

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Book Review: “All the Songs We Sing: Celebrating 25 years of the Carolina African American Writers’ Collective”

[ By Simone Savannah ] “All the Songs We Sing” celebrates the 25th anniversary of The Carolina African American Writers’ Collective, which began in 1995 as a group where aspiring Black authors could come to have their work peer reviewed. The history of writer’s collectives stems back decades, starting most notably with the South Side Writer’s Group, which was founded by Richard Wright in 1936 […]

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Book Review: Uses of My Body

[ By Lauren K. Alleyne ] Simone Savannah, 2017 graduate of KU and HBW alumnus, has recently published her poetry collection, “Uses of My Body”. The book deals with the intimacy of Black womanhood and emphasizes Black women’s experience of erasure, sexual and racial violence, as well as pleasure and healing. Lauren K. Alleyne, Assistant Director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, has written a […]

Obituaries, Uncategorized

In Memoriam: Antonio Sanchez-Day

[ By Dr. Brian Daldorph ] Antonio Sanchez-Day (July 21, 1974 – March 5, 2021) Anthony Sanchez-Day was born on 21 July, 1974, in Topeka, Kansas, and died 5 March, 2021, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City.  He had a number of serious health issues.  He graduated from Grand River Academy in Ashtabula, Ohio, and attended Haskell University in Lawrence, Kansas.  […]

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Poetry Month Reading Recommendations

[ By Brendan Williams-Childs ] April is National Poetry Month. The sun is out, the temperature is finally above freezing, there are even some flowers in bloom. Spring is finally here! And what better way to appreciate the warming days than by finding your favorite sunspot and reading some poetry?  Not sure where to start with poetry? Looking to expand your poetry palate? Or just […]

GEMS, HBW, Obituaries, Uncategorized

In Memoriam: Naomi Long Madgett

[ By: Morgan McComb ] “If I can help somebody as I pass along”: Remembering the Life and Work of Naomi Long Madgett On November 4, 2020, we lost Detroit Poet Laureate, Lotus Press founder, and lifelong educator, Naomi Long Madgett. With a career that spanned over five decades, Madgett’s work was dynamic and unencumbered by critical expectations—especially critical expectations of Black writers. She published […]

Conferences, Events

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 […]

Conferences

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 […]