Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Aurora Harris Detroit and Poetry Update 2014-2015
January 20, 2015
I haven't had a chance to blog until now. Hopefully, I will have more time...
2014 was a real interesting year in Detroit, Michigan. The United Nations came to address the water shut off crisis and determined that shutting off the water to thousands of families was a human rights violation. There were several protests across the City of Detroit concerning water shut off, pensions, foreclosures, utility shut off, lack of public transportation, emergency management, and other life affecting decisions that primarily affect African Americans and the poor. We The People of Detroit set up emergency water stations around the city for those who need water.
In October 2014, I won the Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Peace and Justice Studies Association. I received the award at their conference in San Diego. It was an honor to open the plenary with my poem "This Poem Has Checkpoints" and meet with many wonderful colleagues. The award winners in the photo below are: 1. Almudena Bernabeau: International Attorney and Transitional Justice Program Director- Recipient of the Social Courage Award.
2. Aurora Harris: Author-Advocate-Educator. Lecturer at the University of Michigan Dearborn. Recipient of the Howard Zinn Lifetime Achievement Award in Peace Studies.
3. Nico Amador: Writer-Organizer-Educator. Recipient of the Peace Educator Award 2
4. Loreta Navarro-Castro: Program Director of the Center for Peace Education at Miriam College, Manila Philippines. Recipient of Peace Educator Award 1
Poetry News:
2014: Broadside Press had the honor of working with the Motown Museum to host its first Motown Poetry Slam. The winner was One Single Rose, who wrote a great poem from the lyrics of Motown hits. We look forward to working with the Motown Museum again this year!
2015 news: Broadside Press is now in its 50th year. There will be upcoming events to celebrate the legacy of Broadside Press. We are still hosting the Broadside Press Poets' Theater every third Sunday of the month at the University of Detroit Mercy campus in the Grounds Coffee Haus, lower level of the Student Union from 3:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m. Poets, writers, and playwrights who would like to attend or read on the series should contact me through the Broadside Press Facebook page.
Condolences to the Vest family: This past Saturday, we received news that our Board member Emeritus, Don Vest passed away. See Broadside Press' Facebook Page.
Yesterday January 19, 2015, Detroit had a successful 11th annual march down Woodward Avenue for Jobs, Peace, and Justice and cultural event of local poets and folk musicians.
As part of MLK week at the University of Michigan Dearborn, tomorrow evening, there will be a poetry reading: "Unsilenced" by Broadside Press Poets and students in the University Center Kochoff Hall rooms B and C from 6-8 p.m. January 21, 2015
Aurora Harris
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment