18th Century English writer Samuel Johnson wrote “Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth.” Johnson’s words came to life literally on April 28th at the Langston Hughes Institute. That was the site of an event that was the first of its kind. “Across the Lines: Poets Respond to Discrimination” was the first event in the nation to link National Fair Housing Month and National Poetry Month.
Although April marks the celebration of both poetry and fair housing month, no one had previously thought of combining the two. The link between civil rights and poetry is a natural one, however. Poets Langston Hughes and Irena Klefisz are among those who have used their work to bring inequalities to light while at the same time speaking of a better future.
The Poetry Jam proved to be a hit from the first moment it was announced. In fact, there turned out to be more readers for the evening than slots available. In the end, over 20 poets, storytellers and rappers from all walks of life followed in the tradition of Hughes and Klefisz by presenting their responses to discrimination. The featured readers for the evening were Celeste Lawson, rapper and spoken word artist MC Vendetta and the poetry/performance group Ice9 (whose members include Amy Upton, Alex Mead, Erika Woodams, Sophia Roberts, and HOME’s very own Anne Huiner).
HOME would also like to thank Camille Hopkins, Aimee Goldberg and J.R. Martin-Alexander for their time and talents in making this event a success.
A standing room only crowd at the Institute took in the performances, enjoyed a buffet of pizza and wings provided by the Erie County Fair Housing Partnership, and shared their own thoughts about the evening on a signature wall located by the exits. As one attendee put it “Ignorance can be changed into understanding. Unlearned hatred can be turned into love.”
