Sunday, February 19, 2017, 1:30 P.M. To 4:30 P.M. www.jimpoet.com
Jim Moreno counts his 8 years with the Langston Hughes Poetry Circle (LHPC) at Malcolm X Library as some of the most meaningful literary times of his life. As the result of that visibility he was able to know local poets the likes of Eusi and Tchaiko Kwayana, Jihmye Collins, Sharon Elise, RegE Gaines, Ant Black, Rudy Francisco, Sylvia Telefaro, Theresa F., Gill Sotu and others.
The LHPC arranged to bring Amiri Baraka to San Diego twice for readings. At one of those readings Baraka, Troupe, and Theresa F shared the podium for a thunderous social justice/existential reading. “Being around those incredible poets made me a better writer.”, Jim exclaimed.
The poems and lives of June Jordan, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Troupe, Baraka and others are prompts in this three hour heart, blues and soul honoring of our Black brothers and sisters. “It’s Black History Month and we have leadership in this country proposing limitations on our freedoms that are precedented by policies from the times of slavery, e.g., the children of slaves who were sent off on errands without a pass could be intercepted by slave patrols and beaten because they didn’t have documentation. That inhuman brutality motivated Nat Turner to lead a revolt in Virginia in 1831. We writers reject brutal racism and oppression with our pens.”, reflected Moreno, the great grandson of an immigrant who welcomes immigrants and refugees to America.
The last hour of this poetry writing workshop honors the cutting edge truth, creativity, and brilliance of Hip Hop. Videos of local Hip Hop poets Jerrica Escoto, Black, Francisco, and national stars Gina Loring, Daniel Beatty, and Asia Samson will round out the class to influence and inspire original poems in beginning and seasoned writers. “One culture healing another is the opposite of racism and the polar opposite of ignorance and hate. One genre, one generation, can influence & inspire another by inviting the writer to stretch and grow. A younger generation can help an older generation out of a rut and into a groove. That’s what Hip Hop does for me”, commented Moreno.