forthcoming Book 

 "Mourning Katrina: A Poetic Response to Tragedy"  

  to be released in November  2008

  

   water image

Edited by Joanne V. Gabbin

Mariner Publishing 

    

Upcoming Events 

  Furious Flower Poetry Center Presents a Poetry Reading by Cornelius Eady Cornelius Eady

 

Cornelius Eady is the author of seven books of poetry, the latest of which is Hardheaded Weather (Putnam, 2008). His Victims of the Latest Dance Craze won the 1985 Lamont Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and his The Gathering of My Name was nominated for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize. Additional honors include the Prairie Schooner Strousse Award, a 2002 Oppenheimer Award for the best first play by an American playwright, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He is an Associate Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. With Toi Derricotte, he founded Cave Canem in 1996.

 
   
   
 

  Other Happenings in and around the Poetry Center

wib logo  Word is Born Poets Society will be at TDU  today at Noon! 

  Word is Born has been granted official recognition as a student organization on JMU's campus. 

  Interested in joining Word is Born Poets Society - JMU's poetry Club? 

     E-mail Ivaco at clark2ix@jmu.edu. 
    Use the link on the left to learn more about Word is Born
                                     and look at upcoming activities for the organization.

A SEASON OF HOPE    

September 2008
4 Little Girls
The Center sponsored a film showing of the movie "4 LITTLE GIRLS" by Spike Lee at the Memorial Hall Auditorium.  

 
4 Little Girls is a 1997 historical documentary film about the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. It was directed by Spike Lee and nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Documentary".
 
Rutha Harris A Season of Hope also featured a musical experience with
 Freedom Singer RUTHA HARRIS and guest appearances by children
 from the 2008 Children's Poetry Camp 

  

CHILDREN'S POETRY CAMP  

August 2008

For a week children from all over Harrisonburg and Rockingham County attended workshops on writing poetry, creating poetic art and photography, and learning rhythm on drums.   They danced, sang, and performed. They were entertained by guest performers and ended the week with a final performance before their parents and community.
For more Information about the Children's Poetry Camp use the link on the left.
poetry camp final performance
Poetry Campers in the Forum
 
  
The mission of the Furious Flower Poetry Center is to advance the genre of African American Poetry by providing opportunities for education, research, and publication.

Furious Flower Poetry Center serves as a resource for the campus and local Harrisonburg community.  The Center hosts visiting poets, sponsors poetry workshops for emerging poets, holds an annual poetry camp for children in the community, and produces scholarly texts, videos and DVDs on African American poetry.  Furious Flower has sponsored two decade-defining conferences celebrating the African American poetic tradition.

Established on October 28, 1999, the Center is dedicated to the memory of poet Gwendolyn Brooks.  Dr. Joanne Gabbin directs the Center, which is located on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Please click on the links and sublinks to the left to learn more about the Center's current and past endeavors.

Furious Flower Poetry Center exists within JMU's Division of Academic Affairs. To learn more, visit their web site at http://www.jmu.edu/acadaffairs/. To find out about the JMU English Department, please visit their web site at http://www.jmu.edu/english/.
 
   

For more information contact:

Clarissa Shoecraft

(540)568-8883,

shoecrcl@jmu.edu