Black Spirits II: Poetry Reading by Jayson P. Smith
Center for Book Arts’ Fall 2021 Online Broadside Reading Series continued with a virtual reading from contemporary poet Jayson P. Smith and the spirit of historic poet Ai, moderated by the program’s curator, Harmony Holiday.
The experimental program also included the unveiling of two new limited edition broadsides, which were designed and printed by two by former CBA Book Artists-in-Residence: Lizania Cruz, who produced a broadside for Smith, and Alix Pentecost-Farren, who produced a broadside for Ai. During the event, Cruz and Pentecost-Farren spoke to their inspiration and process for creating the broadsides.
About the Fall 2021 Program: Black Spirits
For CBA’s Fall 2021 Broadside Reading Series, poet, dancer, and archivist Harmony Holiday curated the program Black Spirits, which pairs the work of living poets with the audio and print archives of poets who have passed on.
Of Black Spirits, Holiday writes, “The tradition of call-and-response thrives when we call on it. So-called archives are not symbolic and by letting them read aloud and speak we bring them into resonance with the now where they can offer what Baraka once called ‘urgent messages for those who would be real.'”
Black Spirits I
Poets: Kyle Carrero Lopez & Amiri Baraka
Artists: Rhonda Khalifeh & Yusuf Hassan
Black Spirits II
Poets: Jayson P. Smith & Ai
Artists: Lizania Cruz & Alix Pentecost-Farren
Black Spirits III
Poets: Desiree C. Bailey & Historic Poet TBA
Artists: Roni Gross & Claudia Cortinez
About the Broadside Reading Series
CBA’s Broadside Readings Series program is a unique opportunity for poets and artists to collaborate. Every fall and spring season, CBA invites a poet who previously participated in the program to select poets for a new series of readings. CBA then commissions artists to collaborate with the participating poets to design and print for each of them a limited-edition broadside featuring their work. The broadsides are made available for sale to the public in-person and online in CBA’s bookshop.
Support
This program was organized by Center for Book Arts and Harmony Holiday with funding provided in part by Poets & Writers through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
Watch Now
Purchase Broadsides ($20 each)
Sometimes it Stands Like a Mother–>
Jayson P. Smith’s broadside designed and produced by Lizania Cruz.
Ai’s broadside designed and produced by Alix Pentecost-Farren.
