Readings, lectures, art shows, music, performances! Make sure to read your local listings for all the African American History Month events.
Whole Sight: The Intersection of Culture, Faith, and the Imagination February 1, 7 p.m. University of Washington, Kane Hall 120, Seattle.
Author and professor Charles Johnson presents a multidisciplinary lecture on creativity, race and the artist’s life. A reception to follow in the Walker-Ames Room.
For more information, phone (206)-543-3920.
12th Annual Black Heritage Art ShowFebruary 2-February 4, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
This show highlights African-American art. It also features poetry readings, and gospel and jazz musical performances. It’s a celebration of African-American culture.
Admission is $5 and children under 12 are free. For more information, contact Black Heritage Visual Arts at (410) 521-0660 or info@blackheritageartshow.com.
Books + Authors, Kids! February 3, 10 a.m.-noon. Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 West 125 Street, New York City.
Artist and author Lisette Norman will read from her book My Feet Are Laughing. This is a story time family program.
Elliot Lewis, February 4, 7 p.m. (ET) C-Span2 Book TV
Elliot Lewis discusses his memoir Fade: My Journeys in Multiracial America
John W. Franklin February 4, 6:30 p.m. Western Connecticut State University/Midtown, 181 White Street, Danbury, Connecticut.
John W. Franklin, program manager for the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, presents a Black History Month lecture.
For more information, call Director of Grant Programs Dr. Margaret Leahy at (203) 837-8281.
African American Read-In February 4, 2 p.m. Headquarters Library, 401 East University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida.
This celebration of African American literature is to make literature a traditional part of Black History Month activities. Community leaders will be reading their favorite children's books and telling stories in the African tradition.
For information, contact the Youth Services Department (352)-334-3941.
Poetry Slam 2: Unplugged February 5, 8 p.m. Western Connecticut State University/Midtown, Alumni Hall, 181 White Street, Danbury, Connecticut.
The Black Student Alliance features music, poetry and more in celebration of Black History Month. Admission is $2 and the public is invited.
For more information or to participate, email BSA President Shelby Davis at davis039@student.wcsu.edu.
Lisa Thompson, Literary Conversation February 5, 7:30 p.m. State University of New York at Albany, Assembly Hall Campus Center, Albany, New York.
Lisa Thompson is a playwright, poet, and scholar whose work deals with African-American women and the middle class family.
For more information, phone the New York State Writers Institute at (518)-442-5620.
Spoken Word for Black History Month February 6, 4:30 - 6 p.m. Cleveland Public Library/Brooklyn, 3706 Pearl Road, Cleveland, Ohio.
You're invited to share your poetry and/or a poem of a famous African American. Open to the public.
For more information, phone (216)-623-6920 or email Brooklyn.Branch@cpl.org.
Panoramic Poetry February 9 and February 16, 7:30 p.m. October Gallery 7175A Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This is a blend of art, rhythm, poetry, and music. It will be an ongoing event taking place the second and third Friday of every month. If you’d like to get on the list to read, email panoramicpoetry@octobergallery.com.
Admission is $7. You can phone (215)-923-4737 for more information.
Coming For To Carry Me Home: The Negro Spirituals and the Early 19th Century Black Creative Expression February 10, 2 p.m. The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr, Chicago.
Lecture on the “Sorrow Songs” in early African-American literature. It covers works by Frederick Douglass and other former slaves, in an exploration of this musical tradition and its relationship to bondage and freedom, literacy and illiteracy.
Admission is free with museum admission. Call (312)-922-9410 for more information.
Reading, Bernadette Gabay Dyer February 13, 7 – 8 p.m. St. Lawrence Library, 171 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario.
Bernadette Gabay Dyer is author of the short story collection Villa Fair and the historical novel Waltzes I Have Not Forgotten. Author/critic Donna Bailey Nurse is also on the program.
Phone (416)-393-7655 for more information.
Pierre Joris and Nicole Peyrafitte February 16, 8 p.m. WAMC, 339 Central Avenue, Albany, New York.
Performance artist Peyrafitte and poet Joris are celebrating the release of their CDs—The Bi-Continental Chowder and Routes, Not Roots—with this multimedia event. This presentation features music, poetry, and “Bi-Continental Chowder” that will be served on stage.
2007 Afrocentric Book Expo February 24, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Mall at Prince Georges, 3500 East West Highway (Route 410), Hyattsville, Maryland.
This is the fourth year that the Prince Georges' chapter of the Black Writers' Guild presents African-American literary works and other activities for all ages. Writers, editors, publishers, entertainers, and poets will be on hand.
For more information, call (301)-703-7635.
