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March 14, 2003

Black Cultural Center sponsors Haraka Fest

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Haraka Writers, a literary ensemble sponsored by the Black Cultural Center at Purdue University, will share their poems and short stories at Haraka Fest on Thursday, March 27.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. Tickets, which are $5 for students and $7 for the public, will be sold at the door.

Teju Omolodun, Black Cultural Center assistant director, says Haraka Fest will showcase the techniques and styles the Haraka Writers have sought to master throughout the year.

"This year participants have journeyed through writing experiences from the Harlem Renaissance and South African Human Rights to the creation of personal narratives," Omolodun says. "They will express these journeys through free verse, autobiography and storytelling. This performance will be a gateway into the life of each participant who is negotiating his or her identity within American society."

BCC artists-in-residence Zada Johnson and Emily Lansana assisted the Haraka Writers in developing their work. Johnson, a poet, is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Her works have appeared in Esi Anthology of African-American Women Writers, Shadetree Anthology of Chicago Poets, Creativity Magazine and Warpland Journal of Black Literature and Ideas.

Lansana is a storyteller with a master's degree in performance studies from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in theater studies from Yale University. She has served as artistic director for Kuntu Drama Inc. in Chicago and currently works with the eta Creative Arts Foundation in Chicago.  

CONTACT: Omolodun, (765) 494-3092, osomolodun@purdue.edu; Stephany Spaulding, program coordinator, (765) 494-3761, spauldis@purdue.edu.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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