FOR INFORMATION   CONTACT:
  Natalia Bradshaw-Parson
  bradshnr@jmu.edu

Archived Activities

The Iron Rose Tour

In celebration of Women’s History Month, poets Tameka L. Barnette (AsajaGroove) and Keisha J. Moore (Lady Laureate) will perform at Taylor Down Under on Friday, March 24, 2006, at 7:30 p.m.

In this spoken word performance, Barnette and Moore will conjure women writers throughout our history.  Their repertoire spans from the works of Phillis Wheatley to those of the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts movement to today’s SLAM movement. 

Barnette and Moore will present their own original poetry intertwined with works from the women who have molded history with their words.

The poets will also present a SLAM workshop for JMU students on Saturday, March 25, 2006.  For more information, please contact Julie Caran or Elizabeth Haworth at Furious Flower.

Nikki Giovanni to reprise Truth Is On Its Way

Mark your calendar for this exciting and historic event!  Poet Nikki Giovanni will join the voices of five regional gospel choirs at James Madison University’s Wilson Hall Auditorium on Monday, February 27, 2006.  The concert will begin at 7 o’clock and is free to the public.

This concert commemorates the 35th anniversary of the release of Nikki Giovanni’s Truth Is On Its Way album in 1971.  Giovanni’s original album was one of the first of its kind, combining traditional gospel spirituals with Giovanni’s own contemporary poetry.

The concert will be available for the general public via web cast.  Consider planning a Truth is On Its Way party in your school or town.  Witness history in the making at your gathering as you watch this live performance!

Choir members include students from the following regional colleges and universities:  James Madison University, Virginia State University, Eastern Mennonite University, Mary Baldwin College, and Washington & Lee University.

African American Read-In Day is Monday, February 6, 2006

Universities and colleges, schools, churches, libraries, and bookstores celebrate the literary contributions of African American writers on Read-In day through readings, media presentations, and seminars. Over a million readers of all nationalities and ethnic groups, from 49 states, the West Indies, and African countries celebrated Read-In day together in 2005.  The Furious Flower Poetry Center and the JMU Poetry Club will be hosting a series of readings by African American poets around campus on Read-In day.