Registration now closed

Poetry Speaks! African American Poetry Read-in

African American Poetry Read-in

Join us for a staged reading of favorite poems and excerpts written by African American poets and performed live by your neighbors, including many talented poets, musicians, and faculty members.

African Americans have profoundly influenced American poetry, from Phillis Wheatley to Paul Lawrence Dunbar, through the poets of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer, to the Black Arts movement of the 1960s with Imamu Amiri Baraka and Audre Lorde, to Maya Angelou and Rita Dove and into our own twenty-first century explosion of brilliant new poets.

In celebration, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library is excited to invite you to an evening of African American poetry. 

Members of our community will read favorite poems or excerpts by African American poets in a staged reading emceed by Rhonda Sewell, Toledo Lucas County Public Library's External and Governmental Affairs Manager.

Registration is required only to read a short favorite poem or excerpt (not your own, but published), family friendly, and no longer than a 5 minute time slot. This event is free and open to the public.