Peace Center Announces 2018-2019 Peace Voices Poetry Program

The Peace Center's 2018-2019 Peace Voices poetry program features Poetic Conversations, master classes with visiting artists, teen and adult workshops, readings, a poetry slam and book discussions. With Poet-in-Residence Glenis Redmond at the helm, attendees are encouraged to tell unique personal stories, have important conversations, and develop written and verbal skills. Peace Voices events are FREE.

Poetic Conversations bring together guest poets to share their work on a common topic and start a poetic dialogue with audiences. Separate master classes give teens and adults an opportunity to dig deeper into the nuts and bolts of the poetic process.

Generations: Telling Stories

Featuring Jeanette Redmond, Glenis Redmond, Amber Sherer and Celeste Sherer

Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

When three generations share the stage, a metaphorical quilt of familial and cultural lore is stitched together through poems, stories and recipes. Glenis Redmond, the Peace Center's Poet-in-Residence, is joined by her mother, Jeanette Redmond, and twin daughters, Amber and Celeste Sherer. Inspired by the tools of her foremothers' trade - a long line of seamstresses - Glenis Redmond stitches together memories of both beauty and struggle, one word at a time.

Habla: With Heart in Mind

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month

Featuring Elizabeth Acevedo and Javier Zamora

Thursday, Oct. 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

What does it mean to code-switch and to cross borders? The daughter of Dominican immigrants, New York City based poet Elizabeth Acevedo seamlessly floats between English and Spanish in her poetry. Acevedo is a National Slam Champion and a New York Times best-selling author for her award-winning novel, THE POET X. Javier Zamora fled civil war-torn El Salvador alone as a child. His first poetry collection, Unaccompanied, details that 4,000-mile journey and explores borderland politics, race and immigration from a personal level.

A master class with the poets will be held at 4:30 p.m. that day.

Palmetto Poets: As We Breathe We Hope

Featuring Monifa Lemons and Matthew Foley

Thursday, Nov. 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

Our state motto, Dum spiro spero, means, "While I breathe, I hope." Monifa Lemons is the co-founder and director of The Watering Hole, a South Carolina based poetry community dedicated to youth poets of color. Matthew Foley is a spoken word poet on the Board of Directors of The Unspoken Word, a literary arts nonprofit that programs poetry events in the Charleston area. The poets' thought-provoking work both challenges and celebrates the geographical and emotional terrain of South Carolina.

A master class with the poets will be held at 4:30 p.m. that day.

Southern Voices: Black, White, and Blues

Featuring Glenis Redmond and Scott Ainslie

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

Back by popular demand, Glenis Redmond and Scott Ainslie return to kick off Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday month. The duo, an African-American traveling poet and a Scottish-American blues singer/historian, explore relevant themes through gospel, blues and soulful verse with music performed on vintage instruments. Intertwining African roots and American blues with poetry, their performance is an artistic reckoning.

He Said / She Said

Celebrating Women's History Month

Featuring Sarah Blackman, Jacqueline Johnson and Len Lawson

Tuesday, March 26, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

Women's History Month is not just for women, but for all who champion women. This evening will encourage a frank and honest dialogue uplifting women and their causes. Sarah Blackman, Jacqueline Johnson and Len Lawson will speak poetically from their perspectives. The director of creative writing at the Fine Arts Center, Blackman's debut novel, Hex, explores how a woman can use language to rebuild herself. Johnson is the author of two collections of poetry, A Woman's Season and A Gathering of Mother Tongues. Lawson won the 2016 Jasper Magazine Artist of the Year Award in Literary Arts, wrote the book Before the Night Wakes You and co-edited Hand in Hand: Poets Respond to Race.

A master class with the poets will be held at 4:30 p.m. that day.

A Poet's Dream: Past & Present

Celebrating National Poetry Month

Featuring Jacqueline Woodson

Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in the Gunter Theatre

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Peace Center welcomes Jacqueline Woodson, 2018-19 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Woodson's New York Times bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the 2014 National Book Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, a Newbery Honor and the NAACP Image Award. Brown Girl Dreaming reflects on Woodson's time spent in Greenville's African-American area of Nicholtown as a child and revisits the clash of the civil rights era from a young person's perspective. This homecoming will focus on the power of poetry and dreams.

Lineage and Place

Featuring Alicia Jo Rabins and Kevin Coval

Thursday, May 30, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill

How do we speak of place? Are lineage and place geographical, cultural, emotional and spiritual? Alicia Jo Rabins and Kevin Coval are privy to the traditions, rituals and struggles of being Jewish Americans. Rabins is a writer, musician, composer, performer and Torah teacher. Her work explores the intersection of ancient wisdom texts with everyday life. Coval is a poet and community builder. As the artistic director of Young Chicago Authors, founder of Louder Than A Bomb and professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago - where he teaches hip-hop aesthetics - he's mentored thousands of young writers, artists and musicians. These poets stem from very different literary traditions, but both have so much to contribute about lineage and place and how they write about it.

A master class with the poets will be held at 4:30 p.m. that day.

* Poetic Conversations may contain mature language and content.

Adult Workshops ask participants to mine their own personal histories as Redmond and local guest poets take them through a variety of styles and all stages of the writing process. Workshops are held at 6:30 p.m. in the Huguenot Mill.

Fall workshop series with Glenis Redmond

September 4, 19 and 25

Spring workshop series with Glenis Redmond

April 2, 9 and 23

Workshops with guest artist Amy Randall

October 10, November 7, February 6, March 6 and May 1

Workshops with guest artist Vera Gomez

December 5 and 19

Workshops with guest artist Derek Berry

January 9, 16, and 23

Say Your Peace Reading

This culminating event allows workshop participants from eighth grade to adult to practice the art of performance as they share their stories in celebration of National Poetry Month.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019, at 6:30 p.m.

Ramsaur Studio

Say Your Peace Teen Poetry Workshop and Slam is not your grandma's poetry. The day starts with a workshop where teens can create and polish their slam poetry pieces. Then, the young poets go head-to-head in front of a live audience and panel of judges who evaluate their combined writing and performance skills. Open to participants grades 8-12, and prizes will be awarded. To participate, teens should contact education@peacecenter.org.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Pre-Slam Workshop: 1 p.m.

Poetry Slam: 3 p.m.

Ramsaur Studio

South Carolina Anthology Reading

Archive: South Carolina Poetry Since 2005 is a new anthology of 46 contemporary South Carolina poets, including Glenis Redmond. Featured poets will present their work at this FREE poetry reading.

Thursday, Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m. in Ramsaur Studio

Peace Voices Poetry Ambassadors

The Peace Voices Poetry Ambassador Program is designed for young people in grades 8-12 to develop their passion for poetry. Teenagers interested in becoming a poetry advocate and joining these exceptional young poets as an Ambassador should contact education@peacecenter.org.

School Poetry Residencies

"Participating in Peace Voices transformed my classroom. Students were enthusiastic about writing, they wanted to share their writing, and they gained confidence and maturity through the process." - Theresa Blankenship, League Academy

Poetry Residencies offer extended workshops by Redmond at a school or community organization. Participants engage in an in-depth, comprehensive writing experience over multiple sessions. Schools and organizations interested in a poetry residency should contact education@peacecenter.org.

Book Discussions unpack literary works connected to select performances presented at the Peace Center. These FREE events explore the story, characters and themes that come to life on stage through open discussion and facilitated discovery.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

In conjunction with Woodson's Poetic Conversation on April 10

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, at 3 p.m. in Ramsaur Studio

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede

In conjunction with the Broadway tour of Come From Away, April 16-21

Sunday, April 7, 2019, at 3 p.m. in Ramsaur Studio

*Please note: authors will not appear at the discussions

Visit http://www.peacecenter.org/peacevoices for the latest Peace Voices news.

Peace Voices events are FREE, but registration is required by calling 864.467.3000 or 800.888.7768, in person at the Peace Center Box Office or online at www.peacecenter.org.

For more information about the Peace Center and its upcoming events, visit www.peacecenter.org.

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