Spring 2026 Opportunities with Furious Flower Poetry Center

This past fall, Furious Flower Poetry Center affirmed how deeply Black poetry resonates across disciplines and communities. From New York festival stages to collaborative symposia and broadside exhibitions that poetically held history on the wall, these conversations shaped how Furious Flower enters its next chapter.

In the Spring, the Center enters a space of major transition. As visitors read the history inscribed on the walls of Cardinal House, view the Broadside Exhibitions, or just stop by to chat with the staff, know that the bright yellow walls and the insular energy of the building will soon be replaced with the bustling spirit of the Center’s new home in the heart of campus, Carrier Library.

In light of this, the Center is excited to provide programming that continues this trend of uniting the JMU campus to the broader poetry community, while honoring the space and the people who made it special. This includes two collaborations with the Center for Multicultural Student Services for MLK Day and Women’s History Month, as well as a nature-themed offering with UREC. Three dynamic poets join the Furious Flower Reading Series—D.M. Aderibigbe (Feb), India Lena Gonzalez (March), and Kadija George (April)—and Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr. Gbenga Adesina will offer four workshops and curate a symposium on translation, Black in Multiple Languages (April). Whether you are an established poet, or an aspiring one, everyone is invited to develop their literary muscles though the various staff, faculty, student, and community workshops Furious Flower offers!

There will also be two very special guest curators of the First Friday broadside gallery exhibits in February and April. These exhibits will stand as final opportunities for supporters to view Cardinal House as the home of Furious Flower. Note that the gallery is open to the public during Furious Flower’s business hours, so come by whenever you need a spot of inspiration!

To keep abreast of all the opportunities coming up to engage, connect, and reflect with Black poetic tradition, follow Furious Flower on social media. Missed our events this year? Have no fear—recaps of the broadside exhibitions, recordings of readings, and back issues of our journal, The Fight & The Fiddle, are all part of our quarterly newsletter. Subscribe today and never miss an update!