Tuesday, June 28, 7pm – Poetry
The Moonstone Poetry Series Presents
Aziza Zenzile Kinteh & Ewuare X. Osayande
 Aziza Zenzile Kinteh is a Poet/Activist, Griot Author, Vocalist, and Educator, who utilizes her gift to uplift her culture, promote black womanhood in a positive light, and cultivate a consciousness for social change. Alumna of Eckerd College and Temple University’s School’s of Journalism and Communication; Azizag was first published at age 10 by the “Weekly Reader” for winning 1st prize in a national contest for a short story about family values and sharing. She self published her 1st book of Poetry “I Am Aziza” in 2003. Her poetry has also been included in three “Poetry Ink” Anthologies including the 10th and 15th Anniversary editions, “The Real News”, ” Hair Stories”, “NOW(then)”, “Howard University’s Amistad Literary Journal”, “The Apiary”, ” Versadelphia”, and “E Pluribus Unum: An Anthology of Diverse Voices”. She has traveled extensively and performed throughout the United States, coast of West Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the West Indies. Locally, for the past eight years, Azizag has hosted a First Friday venues that provides an outlet for free form expressions of art and culture in the community; now housed at the Sanctuary. She is featured in a short documentary; The Connection, a film about African American relationships directed by Nisa Ra, and is currently awaiting publication of “Traveling Lite” her second book of poetry. Please visit her website at www.Aziza-lockdiva.com |
Ewuare X. Osayande is a poet, political activist, author and professor. For the past 20 years his work has remained on the front-lines of cultural activism. His published books of and on poetry bear witness to his literal mission: art as a force for social change. They include: So the Spoken Word Won’t Be Broken: The Politics of the New Black Poetry, Caught at the Crossroads Without a Map, Blood Luxury with an introduction by Amiri Baraka, Art at War: Revolutionary Art Against Cultural Imperialism and the spoken word CD, When a Poem is Feared More than a Bomb. Osayande’s poetry has also been included in a number of collections and anthologies including: This Poem is Sponsored by: A Collection of Critical Poetry by Corporate Watch, What Lies Beneath: Katrina, Race and the State of the Nation, Mourning Katrina, Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa. From 2001 to 2004 Osayande served as the first poet-in-residence for the African American Studies Program at Rutgers University in Camden, NJ. In April of 2005 Osayande became the first poet to have a symposium on his body of work at Temple University’s Poet Series sponsored by The Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought. That same year Osayande was paired with poet icon Amiri Baraka for an “Evening of Poetry and Politics” at the Brecht Forum in New York City. In April 2009, Osayande was the featured poet at the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University in Virginia. In June 2009 the Camden County Cultural and Historical Commission celebrated 20 years of his poetry when they featured him as part of their Distinguished Poets Series. Osayande’s forthcoming book of poems is entitled Whose America? that features an introduction by Haki R. Madhubuti,. He also is producer and host of the internet radio sensation “The Resistance with Ewuare Osayande.” Currently, he teaches African American Studies and History at Rutgers University in Camden, NJ. www.osayande.org |