Modern Griots Reviews: Mahogany Browne and the Mythic Poetics of Redbone

“Children born in this desert are always thirsty.” This is a line from poet Mahogany L. Browne’s Poetic Theater Productions and The Wild Project presented production, Redbone: A Biomythography. The Eboni Hogan-directed, hour-long show descends into the depths of the relationship between Browne’s parents for Browne to better understand them and herself, and to highlight […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Danez Smith

“I have left Earth in search of darker planets…I have left Earth and I won’t stop until I’ve found a place where my kin can be safe…” I saw Danez Smith‘s “Dear White America” posted on Upworthy and thought it was fitting for here.

Modern Griots Reviews: Aja Monet’s “Inner City Chants and Cyborg Ciphers”

Last weekend, spoken word poet Aja Monet debuted her works from her upcoming collection, Inner City Chants and Cyborg Ciphers, at Kraine Theater, and it was an intimate exploration of Monet’s own personal stories and those stories extending out beyond herself to the cities of new York and Chicago, Paris, the Caribbean and the rest […]

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: Poets Verb + Reggie Eldridge

While watching the past two episodes of the spoken word series, Verses and Flow, on TV One, two poets stood out to me, Verb and Reggie Eldridge. Verb spoke a critique of our current dependency on hi-tech technology and it reminded me of Louis C.K. rant on smartphones. It does make you think about how […]

Gil Scott Heron: A Poetic Revolutionary

Yesterday, I was sad to find out that singer and poet Gil Scott Heron died at the age of 62. Best known for his poem and song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” Heron was one of the important links between the 60s Beat poets and the Black Arts/Power Movement, and the Hip Hop and […]