3/10 - Time: 7:30 p.m.
MCLA Presents!
Sekou Sundiata Evening of Poetry and Spoken Word
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 7:30 p.m.
MCLA Gallery 51
"My goal is simple... I just want to move the world one poem at a time."
-Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
Join us in the intimate setting of MCLA's Gallery 51 for our second annual evening of poetry and spoken word, dedicated to the life and work of the great poet Sekou Sundiata.
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo,
of Nigerian decent, is one of the most sought after poetry slammers, a
recipient of the 2008 National Performance Network/NCCC Artist of Color
Residency Award and a two-time National Poetry Slam Individual
Finalist. She has been asked to compose and perform for Paul Kagame,
the President of Rwanda, and was commissioned by Discovery Channel for
their 2008 brand campaign.
"One listen to the poetess Iyeoka will capture your spirit and won't
let it go until her lyrics are done encircling the rhythm of your
soul." - YMIB.com
"refreshing return to the essence of good spoken word poetry." - National Poetry Slam
Sekou
Sundiata was internationally known as a poet who wrote for print, performance,
music and theater, as an educator, and as an artist-activist. He was a Sundance Institute Screenwriting
Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at
the Atlantic Center
for the Arts (Florida), the first
Writer-in-Residence at the New
School University,
and the recipient of a Lambent Fellowship in the Arts. He was featured in the
Bill Moyers' PBS series on poetry, The
Language of Life, and as part of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO. Sundiata was a professor at Eugene Lang College in New
York City.
Sundiata
wrote and performed in the highly acclaimed performance theater works The Circle Unbroken is a Hard Bop, which
toured nationally and received three AUDELCO Awards and a BESSIE Award. He
released two major recordings, the GRAMMY-nominated The Blue Oneness of Dreams (Mouth Almighty/Mercury), and its
successor, longstoryshort (Righteous
Babe Records). He toured internationally
with his band; in 2001, they performed in 23 cities in the United States and Canada as part of Ani DiFranco's
"Rhythm and News Tour."
Contact Information: Jonathan Secor, 413.664.8718, Jonathan.Secor@mcla.edu