VS

When many people think of experimental Black poetry, they imagine Jazz, or spoken word, or vernacular––they “envision” sound. But what about poetry you can see? In this episode, Keith S. Wilson talks with poets Alison C. Rollins and Chaun Webster about visual poetry. What is it? Where does it come from?  What strange things does it do to our sense of time? Show Notes: Hosted by: Keith S Wilson Produced by: Original Sound Design and Production by Justin Zullo Transcription by:Kristen Jeré Featured work: “A Song by Any Other Name” by Alison C Rollins and “Untitled” from Wail Song by Chaun Webster Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show Description Can any label or identity explain our freedom, our community or history? How do you identify and what does it mean? In this special episode with Jasminne Mendez, Darrel Alejandro Holnes and Raina J. León explores the fluidity of terms and identity as Black Latinx,o,e,a people from the diaspora. Work featured by Toni Morrison, Aracelis Girmay, Alan Pelaez Lopez and Elizabeth Acevedo. Episode produced by Cin Pimentel. Transcription by Victor Jackson. Show Notes  Social Media for Darrel - @blackboytraveljoy (Insta) and darrelholnes.com (website) Books: Stepmotherland (Notre Dame University Press, 2022); Migrant Psalms (Northwestern University Press, 2021) Social Media for Raina - @rainaleon (IG, Twitter, Facebook) and rainaleon.com (website); @storyjoyinc on IG and Twitter and storyjoyinc.com and check out acentosreview.com and @acentosreview on IG and Twitter and Facebook Books and other work: Canticle of Idols ( CW Books, 2008); profeta without refuge (Nomadic Press, 2016); Areyto to Atabey: Essays on the Mother(ing) Self (Alley Cat Books, 2019); Boogeyman Dawn; sombra : (dis)locat Social Media for Jasminne - IG/Twitter: @jasminnemendez  Website: www.jasminnemendez.com Social Media for Cin- Cin Pim - cinpim.com  Additional list of Afro-Latinx authors to check out ★  Jasminne Mendez ★  Darrel Alejandro Holnes ★  Raina J. León ★  Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa ★  Grisel Y. Acosta ★  Willie Perdomo ★  Aracelis Girmay ★  Alan Pelaez Lopez ★  Ariana Brown ★  John Murillo ★  Elizabeth Acevedo ★  Thea Matthews ★  Kay Nilsson ★  Dizzy Jenkins ★  Avotcja ★  Yesenia Montilla  ★  Roberto Carlos Garcia ★  Mathew Rodriguez ★  Azuah ★  Adriana Herrera ★  Aya de León ★  Sulma Arzu-Brown Prompts for teachers considering teaching the podcast ★ When you consider the title of the podcast, What the water carries, what comes to mind? ★ Listen to the quotation from Toni Morrison. What does it mean to you?         ○ Read the essay, The Site of Memory, after you have listened to the podcast. How are the ideas of the podcast and the essay in conversation with one another? ★ In this prompt, watch Aracelis Girmay read another section from The Black Maria. Have you ever been suspected of doing or being something or someone you are not?  Write about that. In partners, tell this story to someone else. After you have shared this story, tell your partner who you are or how you want to be seen and in answer, your partner should say, “I see you you for who you are and who you want to be”. Write about what it is to hear that sentence from someone who is not your family or dearest friend. ★ Consider the term Latinx? What does it mean for you? One of the poets mentioned, Alan Pelaez Lopez, talks about how the “x” is a sign of a wound, not a trend. What do they mean? How does the essay complicate your understanding of what it means to be Latinx? ★ What are the songs that you keep on repeat, the songs that you need to hear over and over again, the songs that reveal an important part of who you are? Listen to “La Rebelión” by Joe Arroyo. Now read the poem from Elizabeth Acevedo mentioned in the podcast. Follow Acevedo’s form to write your own poem         ○ First stanza: reveal a memory of a particular moment when you heard that song you love         ○ Second stanza: incorporate a line or a word from the song you love and how it connects to your body or reveals who you are         ○ Third stanza: tell us about the place around this memory.  Where is the story you are telling taking place?         ○ Fourth stanza: Show is you dancing or moving to this music that you treasure. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Friends, we’ve reached the end–Franny, Danez, and producer Daniel say their goodbyes after five wonderful years as the crew of VS. The team reminisces on some of their favorite moments from the show, tells some behind the scenes gems, and gets a lil weepy by the end. As we say in the episode, we are so deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to create this show for you. Thank you for your ears, time, attention, and love.  Stay subscribed for VS Presents Roll Call, a limited series launching early 2022 about the past, present, and futures of Black poetry, as well as VS season 6 with our new hosts and producer! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On our last guest interview (oh god!), the squad is joined by masterful poet and overall champion Rachel McKibbens. Recording from the spooky, amazing bar she runs in Rochester, Rachel breaks down her comfort with violence, the power of stopping without providing an ending, the joy and uniqueness of her Pink Door retreat, and much more. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’re dancing in the reflection pool with the inimitable Sarah Kay. On this penultimate interview led by Franny and Danez, the magnificent poet and poetry community member talks about what happened when she turned internal in the pandemic, the relationship between public persona and personal growth, and the gift of connecting with the form that she’s trying to pay forward to as many people as possible. Savor this convo, pals–we’re almost at the end of the road! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Douglas Kearney is developing some new armor for his people. The visionary poet breaks down how he is exploring the limits and possibilities of poems as protection, how he loves to share what he’s learned across generations, the power of drum machine prosody, and much more. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Cyrée Jarelle Johnson knows how to find satisfaction on the page. The brilliant poet breaks down where satisfaction lives in his poems, where the confessional meets the surreal, how sexy poetic form can be, and much more. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Need a transcript of this episode? Request a transcript here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

George Abraham is ready to return. The Palestinian-American poet and professor talks with Franny and Danez about the experience of revisiting their first book Birthright, carving a past and future for themselves in the face of colonialism and homophobia, learning to spur their readers into action, and much more. NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Evie Shockley is ready to bring us together. The poet, critic, and professor breaks down how she builds spaces to gather and exchange in her poems, the lineages she pulls from, balancing her critical and artistic lenses, and much more. Plus, some VERY important info about next season of VS! NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Aria Aber knows how to find the space between the buildings, the beauty in the ruins. The poet talks with Franny and Danez about her masterful book Hard Damage, sharing the fragments of her past with her family, writing toward city and landscape, and much more.  NOTE: Make sure you rate us on Apple Podcasts and write us a review! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.