Natasha Marin sent me information on this way-cool poetry/identity/advocacy (how I would describe it) project. They are offering a Seattle-area free workshop this coming Saturday 4-26-14 (details below).
Take a look at their project video and make sure to stick with it past the first minute or so of what I would call the opening. The different people reciting their poetry pieces are quite powerful. It reminds me of the writing prompt I use quite often: ‘Tell me the story of your name.’ It brings out a surprising amount of complex self-identity and heritage issues. If you can’t make it to their workshop you can still participate remotely by creating your own Red Lineage online. Note that in this project everyone is Red, “invoking the metaphor of bloodline and illustrating our connectedness as a whole.”
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The Red Lineage is an original poem by Cave Canem poet and fellow Hedgebrook alum, Natasha Marin, adapted to allow inclusion of multiple voices and viewpoints. Since it’s inception in 2006, hundreds have added their voices to this multimedia, multilingual, collaborative poetry project. This project is supported in part by the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.
See project video here.
Workshop Goals
The Red Lineage Community Workshop aims:
– To offer members of the community of various ages and backgrounds, who might not consider themselves to be poets, the opportunity to succeed and be validated as they explore their family history by creating a unique Red Lineage poem using the adaptable “frame.”
– To document, record, and otherwise capture these new metaphoric branches of the Red Lineage tree using photography, video, and audio recording equipment.
– To perform a choral recitation (group reading) of the Red Lineage poems generated during the workshop using voice and movement.
Relevant Details
Saturday, April 26, 2014
2:00 – 5:00 p.m. Red Lineage Community Workshop
Northwest African American Museum
(2300 S Massachusetts St, Seattle WA 98144)
Please bring snacks and something to write with/on.
JOSEPHINE ENSIGN 