F228.
Where is the Door? What Can We Carry Inside?
Friday, February 9, 2024
3:20 pm to 4:35 pm
To continue the work we began at #AWP23, expanding access to AWP for aspiring writers associated with HBCUs, this event focuses on aspiring creatives from marginalized writing communities. Students burning with words to write are outside the constellation of channels like AWP. The discussion will cover the continuum of issues facing writers of color and student writers of color—from "genius moments" as creatives to "unaware and invisible" looking for opportunities. Open discussion is the goal.
Participants
Mohamed Tall is Baltimore City's 2017 Youth Poet Laureate and the 2016 Grand Slam champion. He is a former Baltimore City Poet Ambassador, as well as the two-time Muslim Interscholastic Tournament spoken word champion. Mohamed is the author of the poetry collection Too Broke To Die.
Charlotte Teague is an associate professor and chairperson of English & foreign languages at Alabama A&M University (an HBCU), where she specializes and teaches courses in professional writing (creative & technical). She also oversees the university's writing center and promotes creative writing in all aspects.
Hannah V. Sawyerr was recognized as the Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore in 2016. She holds a BA in English from Morgan State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Sawyerr is a visiting professor at Loyola Marymount University. All the Fighting Parts is her debut novel.
Tommy Mouton is a southern writer and an award-winning educator. He has received support from the Writers’ League of Texas, the Tasajillo Residency, the Steinbeck Fellows Program, and Callaloo. An inaugural #AWP23 HBCU Fellow, he teaches in the English major at Huston-Tillotson University.
Dominique Holder is an aspiring creative writer and editor hailing from Maryland. An HBCU graduate, she won the Adele V. Holden prize for her short story "Dogs Hate Honey." She was Prince George's County’s first youth poet laureate. Currently, she is exploring fiction MFA programs.
