National Author and Poet to Appear at Spoken Word Event
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Press Release
- December 28, 2020 Immediate Release
Black Liberated Arts Center (BLAC), Inc. will present a Spoken Word Event in collaboration with the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored (NAACP) on January 18th at the Douglass Next Door Auditorium Event Center during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday weekend. The theme for the evening is “Community or Chaos: Are we there yet?” Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Nationally recognized author and poet, Quaraysh Ali Lansana is the guest celebrity for the occasion. Lansana will present an original work on Dr. King during the evening.
Lansana is the author of the poetry collections The WalmartRepublic, with Christopher Stewart and They Shall Run: Harriet Tubman Poems, among others. Lansana is the author of two children’s books, A Gift From Greensboro and The Big World. Additionally, Mr. Lansana wrote four poetry chapbooks, reluctant minivan, bloodsoil (sooner red), Greatest Hits:1995-2005 and coackroach children: corner poems and street psalms. His work has been published in journals and magazines across the country. Lansana is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow
and an Adjunct Professor of Oklahoma State University, Tulsa. Quraysh is founder of Black Oklahoma/Focus 2020, a podcast program that features Oklahoma Artists, Writers, Speakers, Comedians, and more. He earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Creative Writing Program at New York University where he was a Department Fellow. He is a member of the Tri-City Collective. Jabee Williams, local personality and Oklahoma City Arts Commissioner and Brittany Grant, Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce will host the event. Anyone interested
in participating in the Spoken Word program may sign up for a three minute time slot by calling BLAC, Inc. at (405) 524-3800 or email BLAC, Inc. at blac37inc@yahoo.com. Anita Arnold, executive director, said “We are excited about this event. It is an opportunity for young people to have a say in what is going on in our city and nation. Everyone is invited because, community needs to hear and be heard about current events. This is one way to achieve that.” Refreshments will be served. Admission is $10 per person. Details may be found on Facebook and social media.
Contact
Black Liberated Arts Center, Inc.
Address: 4500 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 106, Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Mail: blac37inc@yahoo.com
Phone: +1-405-524-3800
Web: blacinc.org
Facebook: BLAC Inc. Official Facebook Page