Please join us in your own cozy home for a virtual reading celebrating issue 51/2! Hosted by editor Lynne Nugent, the evening will feature guest editor Tracie Morris and poets from her portfolio on poetic Black resiliency; fiction writer Dessa; and nonfiction writer Steffan Triplett. Come in to Prairie Lights the week before or after the virtual celebration to pick up a copy of TIR, and tucked inside will be a special commemorative bookmark of a poem by Tracie Morris.
Tracie Morris was the inaugural Distinguished Visiting Professor of Poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop before joining the Workshop as its first African American tenured professor of poetry. Tracie has presented innovative poetry, performance art, and theory in over 30 countries and is the author/editor of 10 books (three forthcoming in 2022–23). Her installations and performances have been presented by the Whitney Biennial, Dia:Chelsea, The New Museum, The Kitchen Performance Space, Albertine, Furious Flower, Victoria and Albert Museum, Centre Pompidou, among others. Her debut short film, Black Spring, was commissioned by the Obermann Center and the department of cinematic arts of the University of Iowa.
Dessa is a musician and writer based in Minneapolis and Manhattan. She’s published essays in The New York Times and National Geographic; presented a TED talk with more than 2 million views; appeared on the Billboard Top 200 charts; and performed in fancy theaters and grimy basement clubs on five continents. Dessa’s memoir-in-essays, My Own Devices (Dutton Books), tells the story of her life, career, and an ambitious plan to fall out of love. She is also the host of Deeply Human, a podcast created by the BBC and American Public Media. Find her online at @dessadarling on Twitter and Facebook, @dessa on Instagram, and at dessawander.com.
Steffan Triplett is a Black, queer essayist from Joplin, Missouri. His criticism has appeared in Electric Literature, Lit Hub, Vulture, and Slate. His nonfiction and other creative work has appeared in Longreads, Waxwing, Fence, and DIAGRAM, and is anthologized in Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color.
Register Here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEldeirqDgiG9XJEMJCjwel6DHzCUc3YrEY
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