Moonstone Poetry @ PhillyCAM, 699 Ranstead Street Comcast Cable 66/966HD/967 or Verizon FIOS 29/30 in Philadelphia.

“For seventy-five years, poets have listened to jazz and assimilated certain relationships between the two arts-not merely the issue of language but also the connection between jazz improvisation and poetic narratives as journeys.” (Preface of The Second Set by Sasha Feinstein & Yusef Kommunyakaa).

On this broadcast we explore that connection.

Aaren Perry taught writing workshops to all ages at schools, colleges and festivals on the East Coast and in the Midwest for over 20 years. He has performed his poems at the Nuyorican Cafe, Bower Poetry Club, Kimmel Center, World Café, Fringe Festival, and Philadelphia Writers Conference along with stages and classrooms. His work appears in magazines on NPR and on regional television. He produced and directed Page2Stage, a long-running, all-poetry TV show on Cable. As Production Director at the Painted Bride Art Center, he worked with 100’s of the top poets and jazz musicians between 1986 and 2000. Bilingual with an MFA from Vermont College, he received a PA Council on the Arts Grant. His collections include Open Fire (CWhirlwind); Poetry Across the Curriculum: An Action Guide for Teachers (Pearson); a spokenword recording, Mercury Calling (MelodyVision), and a poetry collection called “Shipping and Receiving” forthcoming in 2021.

Sandra Turner-Barnes, Author, Poet, Jazz vocalist, Sandra Turner-Barnes was born as Sandra J. Farmer, in Lawnside, New Jersey. She was educated in the City of Camden, New Jersey, and graduated with a degree in Business Management from Pierce College of Philadelphia. Sandra is primarily the published author of poetry, fiction and song lyrics, but also loves Jazz. Her first book of poetry, “Always A Lady”, originally self-published in 1986, was published for the third time in April of 1995, and to date, over 7,000 copies have been sold. In 1996, Sandra won the EBONY MAGAZINE Literary Competition for Short Fiction, and in 1997, Sandra re-created the concept of “Jazz-Oetry” and began singing Jazz. In 2000, Sandra’s live jazz vocals’ video performance, with pianist Barry Sames, was selected for National & International airing on BET’s syndicated show, “Jazz Discoveries.”

Charles S. Carr, Host