Echoes Across Eras: Poetry Time Travel with Baltimore’s Chicory Magazine

10:00 am – 11:15 am
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Lobby Stage

PARKING
https://www.bsomusic.org/visit-joseph-meyerhoff-hall/

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Embark on a poetic journey through time with the Chicory Revitalization Project. Delve into Baltimore’s literary, poetic, and activist past, present, and future through the lens of Chicory, a Baltimore Black community poetry magazine published from 1966-1983 that’s being revived today. A panel discussion with Baltimore poets across generations using poetry to preserve Baltimore’s culture and amplify its distinct voice, we will celebrate the living legacy of those voices, remembering and honoring those who paved the way through poetry performances that ask: What should the future look like? Our poetic exploration extends beyond mere observation; it’s a call to action. How do we actualize the past, repeating history in positive ways? Poet, educator, editor, and lyricist, Baltimore’s Melvin E. Brown, the longest-serving editor of Chicory is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and the author of two collections of poetry, In the First Place and Blue Notes and Blessing Songs. Rejjia Camphor, a transdisciplinary artist, educator, and organizer from Baltimore, teaches Creative Writing at Writers In Baltimore Schools and is the Founder of the environmental community project, Sister Stream Catcher. National Slam Champion Slangston Hughes is the artistic director of DewMore Baltimore, former coach of the two-time world champion Baltimore City Youth Poetry Team, and founder and member of the winningest poetry slam team, Slammageddon. Poet and performing artist, Taye Caldwell, a freshman at Patterson High School, was a finalist in the 2023 Baltimore Youth Poet Laureate Competition, showcasing an unwavering love for anything that has to do with art. Patrice Hutton, founder of Writers in Baltimore Schools, and A’niya Taylor, Baltimore Youth Poet Laureate, 2022-2023, will join the discussion. Baltimore cultural historian Mary Rizzo, author of Come and Be Shocked: Baltimore Beyond John Waters and The Wire, will moderate.

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CityLit Project and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in partnership with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company present CityLit Festival: Dismantling the Culture of Silence. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 20, 2024. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.

Download the CityLit Festival: Dismantling the Culture of Silence flyer.