Don't Deny My Voice: Reading and Teaching African-American Poetry

FAIN: EH-50339-12

University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. (Lawrence, KS 66045-3101)
Maryemma Graham (Project Director: March 2012 to August 2014)

A three-week institute for twenty-five college and university faculty on African-American poetry and poetics.

"Don't Deny My Voice: Reading and Teaching African American Poetries," a three-week institute for college and university teachers, responds to the resurgence of interest in contemporary poetry, its expanded production and wide circulation. We focus on the history, changes and modal transformations of African American poetry in our cultural and social landscape and consider three critical periods: 1900-1960, 1960-80 and 1980-present. Guided by experts in the field and supported by the archival resources of the Project on the History of Black Writing and the Furious Flower Poetry Center, participants will examine the practice of poetry- its creation, production and performance- and consider a new poetics for reading, teaching and interpreting. The institute will enable 25 participants to develop a deeper understanding of the range and diversity of African American poetries, to explore the reasons for their global popularity and to engage in projects for teaching and further research.