The Free Black Women’s Library presents

Praise Poems: Weaving The Golden Thread

How do we remember and recreate the important moments in our lives? In this gathering, we will explore poems around our birth and childhoods, and the way these experiences shaped our adult selves. We’ll focus on the moments we want to recreate and become the author of new stories that give us the power to create beautiful lives.

We will explore how Black woman poets like Lucille Clifton, Nikki Giovanni, and Ntozake Shange use language, culture, and vision to weave intimate and powerful scenes of Black life and love. And we’ll end our time together by creating a praise poem to honor ourselves and all the ways we have survived.

This workshop will be led by R. A.

R. A. aka Radhiyah Ayobami is Brooklyn-born with Southern roots. Her journey to writing began at the kitchen table listening to her grandmother’s stories. She holds a B.A. in Africana Studies from Brooklyn College, and an MFA in Prose from Mills College. She has received awards from the New York Foundation of the Arts, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and International Literary Seminars. She has also received residencies from Under the Volcano Mexico, Atlantic Center for the Arts, and Breadloaf Environmental Writers Conference. She has been published in several anthologies and journals, including AGNI, Asterix, Kweli, African Voices, and Hispanic Theological Initiative. Some of her most enjoyable work has been facilitating workshops with pregnant teens, inmates, and elders. Her free time is spent listening to plants, going to her son’s basketball games, and turning everything into stories.

Time: 3:00-4:30 PM EDT

Free!

Registration