Three contemporary black poets, Airea D. Matthews, Roger Reeves, and Safiya Sinclair, and filmmaker Jamal T. Lewis will consider how “the ecstatic” functions in their artistic work and personal lives, within the context of the contemporary moment, where attention to black political and social life emphasizes death and unjustifiable violence. The program, which will include poetry performances, a brief film screening, and discussion, is organized and moderated by Rickey Laurentiis, the inaugural Fellow in Creative Writing at Center for African American Poetry and Poetics. This program is presented in conjunction with our Devan Shimoyama: Cry, Baby exhibition, curated by Jessica Beck, the Milton Fine curator of art at The Warhol.

Co-presented with Center for African American Poetry (CAAPP) at University of Pittsburgh.

Image: Devan Shimoyama, He Lies, He Cries, 2016, Courtesy of Joyce Varvatos and the artist