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

Broadside Press Open Mic Poetry at African World Fest Detroit, MI Today

From: Aurora Harris Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2013 Subject: African World Fest Open Mic Today Good Afternoon, The theme of this year's African World Festival Theme is Rising To The Top!  What's your poetic style? Jazz, Blues, Sonnets, Haikus? Broadside Press Presents: Positive Poetry for Positive People (open mic) hosted by Aurora Harris, Saturday August 17 from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. in the Nile River Jazz and Blues Club ( lower level of the Museum, the indoor cafe/cafeteria) that will have doors open to the lower level courtyard.  Poets who would like to read should show up a few minutes early to sign the open mic list. Each person will have 3-5 minutes to read. Since the theme of the festival is Rising To The Top, poets are encouraged to read positive, uplifting, community (local and diaspora) consciousness raising poetry.  Please keep in mind that the festival is a family affair, no profanity. Also see this message at our Broadside Press Facebook Page! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Broadside-Press/191974004228386?ref=hl African World Festival Page:  http://thewright.org/african-world-festival Aurora Harris, M.A.  * Winner of the 2012 PEN-Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature for "Solitude of Five Black Moons" c. 2011. Co-published by Broadside Press and the University of Detroit- Mercy Press. * Board Member of Detroit's Broadside Press. http://broadsidepress.org/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/BroadsidePress/191974004228386?ref=hl * Spoken Word Artist: In The Tradition Jazz Band: http://www.inthetraditionjazz.com/ 313 673-6313

BBC Film: First Americans Were Black

The BBC has released new historical information in a film that shows the first people in America / USA were Black. Click the link to watch the film. http://originalpeople.org/first-americans-were-black-aborigines-2/#.UfanndhComI

Aurora Harris' "SOLITUDE OF FIVE BLACK MOONS" WINS A PEN-OAKLAND AWARD

It has been a great week! I celebrated my birthday and on Wednesday, I received a phone message from Dr. Rosemary Weatherston that my book of poetry, "Solitude of Five Black Moons" was selected as the winner of the PEN-Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature. Thanks to everyone. I'm going to take a break so I can write the acceptance letter! Below is an official announcement for the public: Message from Broadside Press and U of D-Mercy Press: "It gives Broadside Press and the University of Detroit-Mercy Press great pleasure to inform you that Aurora Harris' poetry book "Solitude of Five Black Moons" is the recipient of a 2012 PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Award for Excellence in Literature. The PEN Oakland-Josephine Miles Awards were created twenty years ago to honor writers of exceptional works often not acknowledged by the mainstream literary community. Judged by respected writers, the awards honor books published the previous year that both reflect a multi-cultural or marginalized viewpoint and represent the highest standards of literature. Congratulations Aurora!" You can find more information at the PEN web site: http://www.penoakland.com/ Aurora

My Poem With In The Tradition Jazz Band

More wonderful news! The Sirius Cd is now getting heavy airplay in South Carolina and a station in Brazil confirmed receipt of the cd for airplay! Also, last Saturday, I received my BMI registrations for my poems in the mail! Go to semja.org to see the reviews of "Sirius" with a sample of my poem Pan Afrikan Prayer. Peace. Aurora c.2012 by Aurora Harris

Poetry Honoring Faruq Z. Bey Tonight

What: Poetry Honoring Faruq Z. Bey Where: African World Festival Main Stage of Charles H. Wright Museum Detroit, MI between East Warren Ave, John R, Farnsworth and Brush Streets Who: Dr. Gloria House, Rayfield Waller, ML Liebler, Anita Jones, Kim Hunter, Ann Holdreith, Aurora Harris When: Tonight. 7:30 pm to 7:50 pm

Community Work; In The Tradition "Sirius" CD; Poetry

July 5, 2012: I haven't had a chance to write much, so I'm using this time to catch up. In the past month and a half, I've been really busy as usual. In Detroit, for 13 youth groups from the Detroit area, Soh, Meiko, and I co-facilitated an Introduction to Asian Culture for the Detroit Asian Youth Project. We had a Cultural Mapping excercise and an "I AM FROM" poetry workshop. Emily Lawsin, Matthew Oldsman, and I read our poetry- another historical reading...first time we read together! The event was well attended...over 50 people participated in the mapping and poetry excercises! On June 23, I read from my book at a new place called "The Collective" in Detroit. After the reading, I participated in the 30th Anniversary of the death of Vincent Chin lecture and tour series. In Detroit's former China Town District, I provided a short lecture on exclusionary laws pertaining to Asian Americans in the US; a brief history on the formation of ethnic enclaves; shared a personal account of my Filipino grandfather and his brothers'immigration; their work in Alaska and Seattle fishing industries, and, field work picking fruit and vegetables for the Libby Foods corporation, to discuss the historical "retro fitting" of Asians by education and work skills. This past Sunday, I attended Grace Bogg's 97th Birthday party at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. This Saturday, July 7th, for the DAY Project, I will be at the Michigan State University building on Woodward in Detroit, with Shane Bernardo to facilitate a class on Asian Culture, Food, and History of the Philippines. We are still trying to confirm the time. I should know something by Friday. Call me at 313 673-6313 for an update. I've either been reading my poetry book "Solitude of Five Black Moons" around Detroit or doing advocacy work for parents with special needs students. I was looking forward to taking a summer off, but last week I learned that the school that my nephew attends, fired most of the vocational teachers because they did not have special ed teacher certifications... That is a whole other space that I can't write about right now...So I'll shift my thoughts to the band that I record poetry with: In The Tradition. Last week, I learned that In The Tradition's "Sirius" cd is number 9 on a jazz chart of CJSW FM in Calgary, Alberta Canada. On July 3, around 8:00 p.m., while I was talking to Olujimi, a DJ from Costa Rica contacted band leader Olujimi via Facebook and informed him that he just received the cd in his hands and was going to play it. My poem, Pan Afrikan Prayer has been getting a lot of airplay and positive feed back from DJ's and listeners from all over the world! Other radio stations that have my poem and the cd in rotation are: WAIF FM in Cincinatti, Ohio WZZA AM in Tuscumbia, Alabama WHFR FM (Henry Ford Community College) Dearborn, MI WJSU FM in Jackson, Mississippi 95.5 FM in San Jose, Costa Rica 91.7 FM in Lagos, Nigeria WNCU FM in North Carolina That's all for now... Aurora