On Friday, April 12, Poetry & Art Series 2019 at the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) presents Cultures Connect, a reading by renowned authors Kimberly Dark, Malachi Black, Jennifer Minniti-Shippey, Mario DeMatteo, minerva, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, and Gerardo Navarro, a.k.a. Nemónico. People’s Choice open mic follows. Hosted by Michael Klam and Jim Moreno. DJ Gill Sotu will provide music and sound throughout the show. Cultures Connect is a collaboration between San Diego Writers, Ink; SDAI; P&A; and Jim Moreno.
This interactive arts and culture experience will include beverages, snacks and time to mingle. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Members are free, nonmembers $6 at the door.
AUTHOR DETAILS:
Malachi Black is the author of Storm Toward Morning (Copper Canyon Press, 2014), a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, and a selection for the PSA’s New American Poets Series (chosen by Ilya Kaminsky). A 2019 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellow, Black has also received fellowships and awards from the Amy Clampitt House, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Emory University, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the MacDowell Colony, the Poetry Foundation (a 2009 Ruth Lilly Fellowship), the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Yaddo. Black’s poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies and have been featured in exhibitions both in the U.S. and abroad, including several musical settings and translations into French, Dutch, Croatian, and Lithuanian. Black is an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of San Diego.
Shadab Zeest Hashmi is the author of Ghazal Cosmopolitan, Kohl & Chalk and Baker of Tarifa. Her poems have been translated into Spanish and Urdu, and published in journals and anthologies worldwide, most recently in McSweeney's anthology of international poetry, “In the Shape of a Human Body I am Visiting the Earth” and “Aeolian Harp” (Glass Lyre Press). Her work has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, Poetry International, Wasafiri, The Cortland Review, Vallum, POEM, World Literature Today, Spillway, Atlanta Review, Journal of Postcolonial Writings, The Adirondack Review, RHINO, Nimrod, Drunken Boat, The Bitter Oleander, South Asian Review, Hubbub, One, The Citron Review, Paris Lit Up, Serving House Journal and other places. Her essays on eastern poetic forms such as the Ghazal and Qasida have been published in World Literature Today, Mizna, Journal of Contemporary World Literature, and 3 Quarks Daily, and her essays have appeared in the Washington Post, Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies, and Knot magazine. She represents Pakistan on UniVerse: A United Nations of Poetry. Her work also appears in a video reading on Huffington Post. Hashmi’s latest book, Ghazal Cosmopolitan, was showcased as the book of the month at the San Diego Central Library. Her first book, Baker of Tarifa, won the 2011 San Diego Book Award for poetry. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize multiple times and has taught as a visiting professor at San Diego State University. Hashmi served as the editor of San Diego’s Magee Park Poets Anthology from 2000 to 2012, and conducts an annual themed reading and discussion at the Carlsbad Library for National Poetry month. She received the Stout Award in 2004 and the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Prize in 2014. She is a columnist for 3 Quarks Daily.
Kimberly Dark is a writer, professor and raconteur, working to reveal the hidden architecture of everyday life one clever essay, poem, and story at a time. She uses humor, surprise and intimacy to help audiences discover their influences, and reclaim their power as social creators. Dark teaches sociology and women’s studies at CSU, San Marcos. She also teaches writing and theater courses for Cal State Summer Arts. Her most recent book is The Daddies: A Novel.
Jennifer Minniti-Shippey is the managing editor of Poetry International literary journal, director of Poetic Youth, and a professor at San Diego State University. After the Tour, Minniti-Shippey’s most recent collection, was published by Calypso Editions in 2018.
Mario DeMatteo is a storyteller, poet, urban farmer, and a follower of Jesus. He created the acclaimed graphic novel, Paul the Apostle, set it in a futuristic world using cartoon creatures to tell the story. Mario founded Beartruth Collective LLC to publish the book and purvey Christian comics and Christian graphic novels that engage children’s imaginations and inspire them to dig deeper into the Scriptures. Mario won the prestigious La Paloma slam and hosts the reading Glassless Minds.
minerva is the poetry pen name and nickname of Gail Hawkins, a journalist, poet-teacher and entertainment writer who covered several of the jazz greats back in the day and was on the staff of the National Geographic Society. In her hometown of Philadelphia, neighbors called her “Minerva” as a child for her old head. Making the connection with the Roman goddess of wisdom and war, the name stuck as one word with a small ‘m.’ Her work has been widely published and recorded including “Exploded Views: a San Diego Spoken Word Compilation,” a chapbook titled “The Wall: Poems” and “Chicken Soup for the African American Soul.” She has lived on both coasts and continues to publish.
In 1984 Gerardo Navarro, a.k.a. Nemónico, began his cross-border exploration with Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (BAW/TAF) while studying humanities at Southwestern College. Navarro later studied visual arts and communications at UCSC, and holds a diploma in playwriting from the Center for Stage Arts (CAEN/CECUT), and another in art education from the Universidad Pedagógica of México. He published his first play, “Hotel de cristal” in 1997, “Spargy G,” the border gypsy in 1998, and “Schizethnic” in 1999, all included in Teatro Norte playwriting collection by the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). Navarro won the Baja California state award (ICBC) 2008 for drama, with his play “Yonke Humano,” and won the Grand Slam of Poetry at the International Book Fair, Guadalajara, 2009, and the 1st Slam of Oral Poetry at the International Literature Festival, Kosmopolis (CCCB) in Catalunya, Barcelona, 2006. His publications include the poetry-songbook Poétika Transgótika (2012), the poetry collections La conspiración de los noctámbulos (2013), and Yo, Sin Tiempo; also, Tráfico de pensamientos, Caosofía de la red social (2014), a collection of aphorisms.
SHOW/PEOPLE’S CHOICE DETAILS:
The People’s Choice Poem Performance Awards – Participants read/perform one poem under three minutes long. Audience members choose (by secret ballot) their favorite poem based on content and performance. Props, artwork, singing, music, dancing and all accompaniment is allowed and anything goes. Top poem performances (the poems that receive the most votes) win $50. Audience members will be encouraged to hoot for their favorites and try to influence the rest of the audience. Writers/artists who would like to participate in the People’s Choice Poem Performance Awards can get their names in the hat ahead of time at mkklam@gmail.com or text 619-957-3264. It is a good idea to sign up early by email or text message, as space and time are limited!
CONTACT:
Please contact host Michael Klam with any questions: 619-957-3264 or mkklam@gmail.com. Learn more online at poetryandartsd.com.