VIRTUAL - Livestream Poetry Reading: Glenn North | Artwork by Ada Koch

The Bunker Center for the Arts proudly presents: A Poetry Reading by Glenn North | Artwork by Ada Koch https://www.facebook.com/events/293013645348629/   Virtually join us for a poetry reading by Glenn North inspired by Ada Koch’s exhibition, Hope Forward. Tune in at 6pm, Thursday, July 23. A link to the Livestream will be posted on our Facebook page shortly before the poetry reading begins.   According to KC Studio Magazine, “North, who was named the first poet laureate of the 18th and Vine Historic District in 2016, has had his work published in journals including “Kansas City Voices” and the “African American Review.” But he is also known for his spoken-word performances and for his collaborations with quite a few visual artists, including Ada Koch and Sonié Joi Thompson-Ruffin.   In the latter capacity, North creates — get out your dictionary or find one online — “ekphrastic poetry.”   “It just means that you’re writing poetry in response to a visual image,” said North, 51, who is director of education and public programs at the Black Archives of Mid-America. “It could be the colors that intrigue me, or the story that’s being told with the particular piece of work.”   In 2011, North lent his poetry to painter Harold Smith’s “Colors of Jazz” exhibition at the American Jazz Museum. (Smith recently celebrated North in a documentary film, “The Gospel According to Glenn North.”) Last year, the poet renewed his ongoing artistic relationship with painter Koch for “Love, Loss & Violence: A Visual Dialogue on War” at the Kansas City Artists Coalition. Also in 2017, North was part of the exhibition “Revolutionary Awakening” at KCAI Crossroads Gallery, in which his poetry complemented works by textile artist Sonié Joi Thompson-Ruffin.   Inspired by one of Koch’s “Love, Loss & Violence” paintings, North’s poem “How to Mourn a Brown Boy” reads in part: “Tell the boy to pull up his pants/ to walk with purpose, pursue greatness/ but know that it won’t protect him./ . . . If it has been 48 hours/ since your last phone conversation/ strengthen your index finger/ for numerous redials.”   Koch recalls hearing North recite “How to Mourn a Brown Boy” as “a pretty powerful moment in my life.” Thompson-Ruffin calls North “an extraordinary poet. He delves into the personal and the spiritual at the same time.””   Read full article: http://kcstudio.org/glenn-north-truth-teller/
Fox4KC with Glenn North and Ada Koch at The Bunker Center for the Arts:  https://fox4kc.com/news/artist-paints-the-town-red-with-flowers-pairs-with-poet-to-combat-kansas-city-violence/