Tracie Morris | Jacket2

Singing the unpronounceable: A season of sounding Black grieving

Tracie Morris

I’ve been thinking about this blog for a long while. When I was asked to write a comment or two on poetry for Jacket2, I researched several angles: from fiber artist Xenobia Bailey’s extraordinary vision translated into mosaic tile for New York’s newest subway system, to the dynamic Pan-Africanist energy of Congo-American electronic rapper Young Paris throughout Brooklyn’s environs, his majesty reflected in the stunning collection of Congolese art at the Met last year. The aesthetics of Black representation in the public sphere is described as poetic, and it is, but I landed on a decision to debut this column a few days after April 21^st, 2016.

POETRY SEEN AND UNSEEN are Commentaries in which Tracie Morris considers poetry and poetics in unlikely environments.

Banner image: Elizabeth Catlett's Invisible Man memorial sculpture for Ralph Ellison (detail).

TRACIE MORRIS is a poet, singer, critic, scholar, bandleader, artist consultant, vocal coach and actor. She holds an MFA in Poetry from Hunter College, has studied classical British acting technique at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, American acting technique at Michael Howard Studios, is an alum of Cave Canem’s prestigious summer residency as well as residencies at MacDowell, Millay and Yaddo. She holds a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University. Her work has been presented at the Whitney Biennial, Ron Feldman Gallery, The New Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art and Dia:Chelsea and dozens of musical recording projects. Her books include Intermission, Rhyme Scheme and handholding: 5 kinds and she is co-editor of Best Experimental Writing (2016) with Charles Bernstein. Tracie is Professor and Coordinator of the MFA program in Performance + Performance Studies at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York.

Jacket2 Commentaries feature invited posts by poets and scholars who take a close, serial look at poetry scenes, archives, poetic concerns, or theoretical clusters. Commentaries, although curated, are not edited by Jacket2 staff. We welcome your comments. Send queries and notes to Commentaries editor Jessica Lowenthal or contact us at this page.

Posts

Singing the unpronounceable: A season of sounding Black grieving

Poetry seen and unseen

Singing the unpronounceable: A season of sounding Black grieving