Tom Postell: A Book Launch and Jazz Session for an Unsung West End Poet

For decades poets, artists, and scholars have been clamoring for the publication of writing by Tom Postell (1927-1980), an innovative Black Cincinnati West End/NYC poet who ran with poetry and jazz heavyweights of his era: from Amiri Baraka and Allen Ginsberg to Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman. Thought lost since his sudden death in 1980, these poems will launch this May 11th in their first-ever authorized edition from the Unsung Masters Series (ed. Michael C. Peterson and Anthony Sutton). Join us on May 11th, 7pm until 11pm at the Lounge at Liberty Exhibition Hall for the book's launch, with readings by the editors and award-winning poets: Cincinnati-Mercantile Poet Laureate Yalie Saweda Kamara, Dior J. Stephens, Matt Hart, Taylor Byas, and Kevin Prufer. The reading at 7pm will be followed by jazz with The Justin Dawson Quartet at around 8, communing, open session, and revelry into the evening. A community celebration, free and open to all. Loosely aligned with the Beat Generation, Black Arts, and Black Power Movements of the 1950's-1970's, Postell's poetry gives us a unique look at how race, art, music, and urban development intersect in Cincinnati and New York City. His work, writes 2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist Will Alexander, was "a deft, barely-listened-to imaginal incessance." "In this iridescent collection," lauds Dr. Joshua Bennett, "his voice arrives as if from another planet, another place in space-time, to call us for forward." The volume TOM POSTELL: ON THE LIFE AND WORK OF AN AMERICAN MASTER (2024) will be available at the event and is available for preorder at the distributor Asterism.com Contact Co-editors Michael C. Peterson (University of Cincinnati/Elliston Poetry Room) and Anthony Sutton (University of Houston) with any questions about partnerships, book sales, booking, or questions.

Event Links

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2403036-0

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