For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday
Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals. He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.” … Continued
Palestine Week 2024
January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued
Alice Walker in Conversation with Andy Shallal at National Museum of African American History and Culture
When: Tuesday, October 16, 2018, 7-9pm Details: Busboys and Poets and The National Museum of African American History and Culture present an evening with renowned author, Alice Walker. An internationally celebrated writer, poet and activist whose works include short fiction, children’s books, volumes of essays and novels, among them The Color Purple for which she … Continued
Everest Base Camp #18
Why am I here? It is 6 am now. I have not slept. My breathing is not improving. I am waiting for the first break of light. Bending to put on my shoes is exhausting. I put on one shoe. Sit upright. Take a deep breath. And put the other. I go to the dining … Continued
Busboys and Poets Book Review: The Cooking Gene
In “The Cooking Gene,” culinary historian Michael Twitty sends his reader on a tantalizing journey starting at the kitchen table, leading his readers all the way to the cotton fields of Virginia and the plantations of North Carolina. He captures his audience by centralizing the topic of southern cuisine which depicts to the reader a … Continued
Everest Base Camp #17
Oxygen please or more Dawa wisdom After leaving the monastery I ask Dawa. How do you keep from slipping on these rocks. Dawa says. The foot has two parts. The thinker. And the doer. The thinker is the ball of the foot. The front of the foot. It senses things and can quickly adjust. It … Continued