The Furious Flower Poetry Conference is held every 10 years, attracting writers from all over the world to celebrate and investigate “contemporary trends in Black literature, culture, and thought, and publish a signature volume of poetry, poetics, and criticism to commemorate each conference.”1
Furious Flower IV begins today, September 18th, and runs through the 21st, at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. For conference details please visit the website 2024.furiousflower.org. There are a number of FREE EVENTS that are also available online.
About Furious Flower
The first Furious Flower Poetry Conference was convened by Dr. Joanne Gabbin in September 1994 to celebrate the poet Gwendolyn Brooks, and succeeded in bringing together Black poets and enjoyers of Black poetry, and also inspired others to learn more about the poets and their work. Dr. Gabbin convened another conference in 2004, and by the time the third Furious Flower conference was held in 2014, the “decennial nature of this event became firmly established. The conference had also become defined by its focus on the long view of Black poetic traditions. The decade between each convening allowed the conference to become the venue for discussing and exploring significant canonical developments, critical approaches, and evolutions within Black poetic activity.”2
The 2024 Furious Flower conference is dedicated to Elizabeth Alexander and Kwame Dawes and celebrates The Worlds of Black Poetry. Each conference continues “to stage contemporary trends in Black literature, culture, and thought from a range of creative outlooks, as well as provide a platform for new scholarship, critical approaches, and performance strategies.”3 This year’s conference includes a number of authors published by Wesleyan University Press.
Latest Books by Authors and Editors Presenting at Furious Flower
Selected Poems of Calvin C. Hernton (edited by David Grundy and Lauri Scheyer)
The Collected Poems of Lorenzo Thomas (edited by Aldon Lynn Nielsen and Laura
Vrana)
The Book of Landings by Mark McMorris
Sukun: New and Selected Poems by Kazim Ali (Kazim Ali is presenting on Black Buffalo Woman: An Introduction to the Poetry & Poetics of Lucille Clifton published by BOA Editions LTD)
Authors Giving Readings
Between the Night and Its Music: New and Selected Poems (A. B. Spellman; edited by Lauri Scheyer)
Trophic Cascade by Camille Dungy
Room Swept Home by Remica Bingham Risher
- “Celebrating the Worlds of Black Poetry.” Furious Flower IV, 2024.furiousflower.org/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
↩︎ - “Celebrating the Worlds of Black Poetry.” Furious Flower IV, 2024.furiousflower.org/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
↩︎ - “Celebrating the Worlds of Black Poetry.” Furious Flower IV, 2024.furiousflower.org/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
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