An Evening with with Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE and Tracie Morris
renaissance one and The Drum proudly present an eclectic evening of poetry, performance and conversation from two phenomenal artists, as renowned Jamaican poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE and acclaimed US poet and voice artist Tracie Morris come to The Drum on Wed 22 Oct at 7:30pm.
Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze is an internationally renowned Jamaican poet, dub poet and storyteller known across the world for her incredible work, who has been enthralling audiences since the 1980s. Her words carry powerful political and personal messages, sharing her experiences of life in Jamaican and the UK, speaking of Third World poverty, freedom, reggae, the Caribbean and the human condition in colourful, emotive and utterly unique ways. As well as being an Honorary Fellow of the University of Leicester School of English, Jean was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2012, and has been called “one of the most important, influential performance poets of recent years” by the British Institute of Literature.
Tracie Morris is an American poet and sound artist who fuses brilliant performance with academic prowess. Not only a prolific performer, first emerging on the New York poetry slam scene in the 1990s, Tracie holds a Ph.D in Performance Studies from New York University, and splits her time between performing her unique blend of sound poetry and serving as a full time Professor of Performance Studies at New York’s Pratt Institute.
Experience their electric stage presence, rhythmic wordplay and their perspectives on the power of words, reggae music, freedom, and other themes celebrating the human experience. As well as sharing their poetry, both writers will be joined in conversation by Dr Corinne Fowler, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for New Writing.
This special night is supported by Arts Council England, produced by renaissance one and presented in association with Shakti Women.
“Jean Breeze … poetry shifts effortlessly through standard English to a native Jamaican which has no equal in its emotional depth” – The Herald
“Tracie Morris brilliantly spearheads the ongoing experiment black artists conduct at the intersection of language and music. She sounds like how we want to sound.” – University of California
Wed 22 Oct, 6:30pm
Tickets: £8 (£6)
Don’t miss this chance to see two international stars share a stage for the first time! To book tickets for only £8, call The Drum’s Box Office on 0121 333 2444, or visit www.the-drum.org.uk