The three part series features Dr. Brooks in conversation with poet, playright, essayist, and professor Claudia Rankine, poet and director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) Kevin Young, and poet and painter Terrance Hayes.
Discussions include the urgency for artists and poets to respond to our contemporary crises; the importance of invisibility in African American cultural production across the centuries; and how daily record keeping can be a radical act.
“At the intersection of visual art and poetry lays the courage to bear witness to the world and the weight of history,” says Dr. Brooks. “In this series, I speak with three leading artists about the important roles visual art and poetry play in helping us understand the possibilities of the imagination in charting a way forward.”
Art and Poetry is available on Apple, Spotify, and Google.
Episodes
Art and Poetry: How to Witness the World
In this episode Claudia Rankine explores how the act of witnessing is necessary in maintaining the social contract, particularly for artists. Rankine shares her thoughts on the role art and artists play in determining the course of history, her approach to teaching a new generation of artists, and the importance of introspection and intention in shaping our collective future amidst global crises.
About Claudia Rankine
Rankine is professor of creative writing at New York University. She is the author of three plays and six collections, including Citizen: An American Lyric and Don’t Let Me Be Lonely; she has also edited several anthologies, including The Racial Imaginary: Writers on Race in the Life of the Mind. In 2016, she co-founded The Racial Imaginary Institute (TRII). Her most recent book is Just Us: An American Conversation (Graywolf, 2020). She is a recipient of numerous awards and honors, including MacArthur, Lannan Foundation, and Guggenheim fellowships.
Art and Poetry: Connecting Stories at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
In this episode Kevin Young reflects on how African American culture is a crucial part of American culture. From blues music to poetry and cakewalk dances to Black Twitter, Young draws connections across time as he discusses a wide range of art forms and cultural phenomena.
About Kevin Young
Young is the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the poetry editor of the New Yorker. He has published 15 books of poetry and prose and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and the PEN Open Book Award, as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and MacDowell Colony. He was also finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism.
Art and Poetry: Recording Everyday Life
Terrance Hayes is fascinated by creating records of daily life and teaching a new generation to find meaning in their everyday existence. In this episode he considers what constitutes reading and writing across mediums.
About Terrance Hayes
Hayes is professor of creative writing at New York University. He is the author of the National Book Award finalist How to Be Drawn (Penguin, 2015), and Lighthead (2010), which won the 2010 National Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His numerous honors include a Whiting Writers Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, United States Artists, the Guggenheim, and the MacArthur Foundation.