In this interview author and poet Thomas Sayers Ellis sat down with Pittsburgh-based poet Bonita Lee Penn to talk about his personal relationship with the oral tradition, the founding of the Dark Room Collective, and the future of language and motion.
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In this edition of The Writer’s Block, we sit down with TJ Dema, a Motswana performance poet, to discuss her craft and collaborations. The Writer’s Block is an ongoing video series of interviews with visiting writers at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh.
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TJ Dema is a veteran spoken word poet from Botswana who has been performing for over a decade. She payed a visit to Pittsburgh in September to read at City of Asylum/Pittsburgh’s annual Jazz Poetry concert. Sampsonia Way presents three of her poems.
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Renowned poet Nikki Giovanni discusses her views on censorship, voter suppression in the upcoming presidential elections, the tribute she’s organizing to celebrate Toni Morrison’s legacy, and offers a message to young black poets.
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In this interview Sheryl St. Germain talks about her work as a curator of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh’s annual event Writers in the Garden, the skills she wants her students to learn, and how writing helped her define her past.
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Prior to the Jazz Poetry Concert on September 8th, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh is presenting Writers in the Garden, a celebration of local poets and the Northside community. This year’s poets include Christopher Medal-winners, Pushcart Prize-nominees and NEA Fellows.
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In this video Thomas Sayers Ellis reads several poems, including “My Meter is Percussive” and “Or”. Recorded in June at the annual Cave Canem reading, co-hosted by City of Asylum/Pittsburgh.
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On June 21, Cave Canem, in partnership with City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, presented its annual Pittsburgh reading where National Book Award winning poet Terrance Hayes read, along with poets Angela Jackson, Nikki Giovanni, Nikky Finney, and Thomas Sayers Ellis.
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In this interview National Book Award winner Nikky Finney discusses her journey into poetry, her editing process, why she is frustrated with history’s lion hunters, and the story behind her gripping poem “The Afterbirth, 1931.”
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On June 21, Cave Canem, in partnership with City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, presented a free reading on Pittsburgh’s Monterey Street where poet Angela Jackson read, along with Nikky Finney, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Nikki Giovanni, and Terrance Hayes.
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