Event Info
Join hosts Mahogany L. Browne and Jive Poetic for the Brooklyn Poetry Slam, back in the virtual space and coming to your computer screen via Zoom!The Brooklyn Poetry Slam is excited to announce the return of its monthly programming this Fall. Mark your calendars now, and join special guests and featured poets from all over the world, as Mahogany L. Browne hosts and cultivates an incredible evening of poetry and community, supported by beats from Jive Poetic.
Featured poet: Suzi Q. Smith.
Don’t miss a chance to speak out and be heard! Sign ups for the Slam and for the Open Mic happen the night of the event in the Zoom room, so don’t be late!
About the artists
Mahogany L. Browne is the Executive Director of JustMedia, a media literacy initiative designed to support the groundwork of criminal justice leaders and community members. This position is informed by her career as a writer, organizer, & educator. Browne has received fellowships from Agnes Gund, Air Serenbe, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research & Rauschenberg. She is the author of recent works: Chlorine Sky, Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice, Woke Baby, & Black Girl Magic. As the founder of the diverse lit initiative, Woke Baby Book Fair. Browne’s latest project is a poetry collection responding to the impact of mass incarceration on women and children: I Remember Death By Its Proximity to What I Love (Haymarket Books), She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Jive Poetic is a writer, organizer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BA in Media Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his MFA in Writing and Activism from Pratt Institute. In 2017 Jive was the first recipient of the John Morning Award for Art and Service. He is the founder of Insurgent Poets Society, Carnival Slam: Cultural Exchange, and co-founder of the Brooklyn Poetry Slam. His work has been showcased on season four of TVONE’s Lexus Verses and Flow, PBS NewsHour, and BET. International recognition and support for his work has come from the British Arts Council; US Embassies in Australia, Brazil, and Poland; and the Minister Of Culture in Antigua and Barbuda. He has received fellowships from Air Serenbe and Rhode Island Writers Colony, and when he is not on tour or hosting, he teaches poetry and hip hop workshops to at risk youth in New York City and the surrounding area.
Suzi Q. Smith is an award-winning artist, organizer, and educator who lives in Denver, Colorado. She has created, curated, coached, and taught in Denver for over 20 years, managing the largest poetry festivals that Denver has seen to date. The author of poetry collections Poems for the End of the World, A Gospel of Bones, and Thirteen Descansos, Suzi is also a singer-songwriter, playwright, and multi-disciplinary creative. She has curated exhibits with Denver Art Museum, been featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art, and has served as the Poet in Residence at Crystal Bridges Museum. Her single ‘Moments’, in collaboration with Psy’Aviah, received International attention after being a finalist in the BBC’s ‘Next Big Thing’ contest and she co-wrote and is featured on Flobots’ 2017 single, Sleeping Giant. She was also a member of Lady Wu-Tang Clan, sharing stages with Raekwon and Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan. She co-wrote the dramatic production How I Got Over: Journeys in Verse, the first and only production at the Denver Center to be written, performed, and directed by Black women. She also co-wrote and directed Where We Are From: Freedom is a Constant Struggle, produced by 5280 Coop.
As an organizer, Suzi has worked with arts and cultural organizations for over 20 years, in Denver and around the U.S. Her commitment to intersectional racial justice, creating safe(r) spaces for all marginalized peoples, and creating communities of care as well as policies and practices for equity are all key initiatives. As an educator, she has worked extensively with youth, serving as a Teaching Artist with Youth On Record, and as a coach of Denver Minor Disturbance Youth Poetry Slam, resulting in two international championships. Currently, she is Affiliate Faculty with Regis University’s Mile High MFA, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and DU’s Prison Arts Initiative, as well as the Conference Director for The Word. She also serves as a community representative on the Denver County Cultural Council.
