Black Poets of Columbus
As part of Professor Cynthia Selfe’s Literacy Narratives of Black Columbus Project, I co-led a group of students who interviewed black poets about their writing and their lives. Our goals were to provide a platform for the poets to share their own stories and poems with the public, and to make those stories and poems accessible to literacy researchers interested in learning more about this creative community. All twenty interviews are permanently archived at the free online Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives, and you can link to individual interviews below. I hope to continue building on this work under Professor Selfe’s guidance and with the support of the community throughout 2014.
Is Said To You interviewed by David Winter
Dionne Custer Edwards interviewed by Sean Kamperman
Kimberly Brazwell and Jason Brazwell interviewed by Sean Kamperman
J. G. Gibson interviewed by Camden Moser
Rachel Wiley interviewed by David Winter
Vernell Bristow interviewed by David Winter
Dave Nichols interviewed by Sean Kamperman
Izetta N. Thomas interviewed by Jamie Miller
Tiffani Smith interviewed by Jamie Miller
Scott Woods interviewed by David Winter
Barbara Fant interviewed by Jamie Miller
Quartez Harris interviewed by Shadia Smidi
Hanif Abdurraqib interviewed by Ben Lyon
Will Evans interviewed by Camden Moser
Karen Scott interviewed by Ben Lyon
Searius Addishin interviewed by David Winter
Dr. Horace Newsum interviewed by Sean Kamperman
Taribo Osuobeni interviewed by Ben Lyon
R. Lee interviewed by David Winter
Many thanks to all of the interviewers and poets who generously shared their time, their writing, and their stories with us. None of these interviews would have been possible without the invaluable assistance of Vernell Bristow, Scott Woods, Will Evans, and Hanif Abdurraqib, who helped us to identify and contact key members of the poetry community, and without my co-leader Sean Kamperman, who kept our research group focused during trying times.
Ava Winter 