Montgomery County Community College to Host Online Black Diasporic Poetry Workshop

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Photo via Sonsiris Tamayo.
Attendees will learn about Black poetic themes, styles and techniques with artist and poet, Sonsiris Tamayo.

Continuing its year-long celebration of African American poetry, Montgomery County Community College is hosting an online community poetry workshop featuring a special guest artist.

The College will host “Creating Black Diasporic Poetry: A Workshop” online Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 6-7 p.m.

Attendees will learn about Black poetic themes, styles and techniques with artist and poet, Sonsiris Tamayo.

All poetry created during this session will be showcased in the Libraries & Archives digital display during Poetry Month in April. All levels and writers welcome. The online event is free and open to the community.

This past fall, Dr. Fran Lassiter, English Associate Professor, and Amanda M. Leftwich, Student Success Librarian, won grant funding from the Library of America’s “Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters,” initiative, allowing them to host programming at the College dedicated to enhancing appreciation of the extraordinary range and richness of the 250-year-long African American poetic tradition.

“We are both very excited to host this poetry workshop,” said Lassiter. “It coincides with Black History Month and the idea of putting on events like this for students, faculty and the community is very important. Poetry is a tool used to unify and for education. This poetry workshop will be based on that opportunity for those able to attend.”

Lassiter and Leftwich encouraged community members to attend the workshop, saying it was a great opportunity for writers to have their work critiqued by a professional.

MCCC celebrates African American culture and history annually during the Pan African Festival hosted by the Black Student Union.

The yearly festival was first created over a quarter of a century ago to recognize the contributions of Malcolm X, as well as those of the African Diaspora, meaning where Africans are from throughout the world.

MCCC was selected as one of 49 libraries in 24 states to receive the Library of America’s “Lift Every Voice: Why African American Poetry Matters” grant.

A total of $58,800 was awarded to public libraries and other institutions in the form of $1,200 stipends to support public programs centered on a core selection of poems that illustrate five humanities themes at the heart of the project.

Poets and scholars will participate in all programs, which will be presented online from September 2020 through February 2021 and will be free and open to the public.

For more information, email Fran Lassiter or email Amanda Leftwich.

Montgomery County Community College will host “Creating Black Diasporic Poetry: A Workshop” online Wednesday, Feb. 3, from 6-7 p.m.

About Montgomery County Community College 
For more than 56 years, Montgomery County Community College has grown with the community to meet the evolving educational needs of Montgomery County.

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