This Is The Honey Poets: “A Jubilee of a People Dreaming Wildly” with KWAME ALEXANDER

3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Auditorium

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

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After a day of robust discussions, poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author KWAME ALEXANDER joins the 21st CityLit Festival in its 20th year of incorporation, as a special guest in a celebratory finale. The session includes poetry readings by contributors of the This IS the Honey anthology, CHET’LA SEBREE, KIMBERLY A. COLLINS, and MARITZA RIVERA who share their Honey poem and a few others before Kwame takes the stage and shares his own. Called a breathtaking poetry collection on “hope, heart, and heritage”, Honey celebrates Black life in tender meditations and haunting lyricism. Edited by Kwame, it includes promising and prominent poets in a vibrant collection, a must-have keepsake for poetry lovers. The session name comes from Festival poet Mahogany L. Browne’s poem with the same title as the book. Kwame follows the reading in conversation with former Enoch Pratt librarian DEBORAH TAYLOR, who will also discuss Why Fathers Cry at Night. A book signing follows, along with the final event of the day, a performance by musical guest artist Be Steadwell on the Lobby Stage.

As a world-class creative, innovator, and visionary, Kwame is the Emmy-winning Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal-winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023. The series was produced in partnership with LeBron James’ SpringHill Company and Big Sea Entertainment, Kwame’s production company dedicated to creating innovative, highly original children’s and family entertainment. Deborah has chaired and served on many American Library Association (ALA) committees, including, the Newbery Awards, Coretta Scott King Book Awards, and the Michael L. Printz Award.

Honey contributing poets include Puerto Rican poet and Army veteran, MARITZA RIVERA who is the creator of a short form of poetry called Blackjack, the author of About You, among others, and co-edited the anthology, Diaspora Café: D.C., with Jeffrey Banks. CHET’LA SEBREE is the author of Field Study, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets, and Mistress, a 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Poetry nominee. Callaloo Fellow and Pushcart finalist, KIMBERLY COLLINS, teaches at Howard University and is the author of Bessie’s Resurrection and the founder of SOAR (So Others Ascend Righteously) where she empowers others through her writing for healing methods and programs.

Other current projects in development at Big Sea include America’s Next Great Author, the groundbreaking reality television series for writers. A regular contributor to NPR’s Morning Edition, Kwame is the creator and host of the Why Fathers Cry podcast, premiering September 2023, featuring conversations about love and parenting, and loss, with fathers and sons.

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Honey Poets: MARITZA RIVERA, CHET’LA SEBREE, KIMBERLY COLLINS
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
KWAME in conversation with DEBORAH TAYLOR

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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.