2Leaf Press cordially invites you to attend our upcoming “2Leaf Press Presents” @ the Bowery Poetry Club featuring the legendary Shirley Bradley LeFlore on Monday, April 28, 2014 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $12. Besides celebrating the publication of Ms. LeFlore’s books, Brassbones & Rainbows and Rivers of Women, The Play, we are also commemorating Ms. LeFlore’s fifty years as a poet, playwright and activist.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Ms. LeFlore, a retired professor and psychologist, was a key participant of the Black Arts Movements during the 1960s and 1970s, and a former member of the Black Artists Group (BAG). Special guests Cheryl Boyce Taylor and Layding Kaliba will also read their poems in celebration of Ms. LeFlore’s poetry and her life-long commitment to social and artistic activism.
How often do you get to hear the inflections and tone of voice in which the poem is meant to be read, by the poet herself? Shirley Bradley LeFlore is that poet, and she is absolutely amazing! Ms. LeFlore’s poetry weaves the fabric of verse through jazz, blues and gospel in an easy going, smooth and soothing Southern dialect mixed with African American vernacular that rolls off her tongue:
“There’s a man singing under my skin
Like a gourd song
With a clear voice
Singing the silk of the hummingbird
Deepthroat in the silverblades of holygrass
There’s a man singing under my skin . . .”
While Ms. LeFlore tackles social, political and cultural issues with a profound love for humanity, she also provides insight into self-identity, beauty and faith.
Please be sure to share this announcement with your colleagues and friends. Ms. LeFlore recently celebrated her 74th birthday and her good works should be widely cherished and shared. Books will also be available for purchase/signing at the event.
So join us for what will be an enriching cultural and artistic event that everyone should experience! I look forward to seeing you there.
