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I Got a
Lust for Life to
Reflect Impact of the African-American Great Migration on
Our Region
Free
public program Jan. 20 features events in Detroit and Toledo
A one-day public program
that begins in Detroit and finishes in Toledo will explore
the impact of the African-American Great Migration on
literary and musical expression in northwest Ohio and
southeast Michigan.
The program, I Got a Lust for Life: The Unique Words and
Sounds of Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan,
will include panel discussions, poetry readings and musical
performances on Saturday, Jan. 20, in Detroit at Wayne State
University and in Toledo at the Toledo Lucas County Public
Library and the Toledo Museum of Art. Buses will shuttle
audience members between the events in the two cities.
For details on the travel options, view the event on Facebook.
The program begins in Detroit with a 10 a.m. panel
discussion at Wayne State University’s Schaver Music Recital
Hall. The panel will include Ben Blackwell, co-founder of
Third Man Records and official archivist for the White
Stripes; John Gibbs Rockwood, Toledo author of the 2014 book
Can I Get a Witness that features his photographs of
iconic rock, pop, blues and folk musicians performing in the
region during the early 1970s through the 2000s; Ramona
Collins, Toledo-based popular jazz singer; and Oliver
Ragsdale Jr., president of the Carr Center, a community hub
for African-American artistic expression in Detroit.
The discussion, which will be moderated by Kimberly Mack,
PhD, assistant professor of African-American literature at
The University of Toledo, and Joshua S. Duchan, PhD,
associate professor of music at Wayne State University, will
be followed by a musical performance and Q&A.
I Got a Lust for Life will then move to Toledo where
Tyehimba Jess will perform a poetry reading and hold a book
signing at 2:30 p.m. in the McMaster Center of the Toledo
Lucas County Public Library. Jess is a 2017 Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet from Detroit whose work has focused on
music, biography and African-American history. He will read
from Olio, his award-winning collection of poetry
that weaves together sonnet, song and narrative to examine
the lives of mostly unrecorded, African-American performers
from the Civil War to World War I.
The program concludes with a 6 p.m. panel discussion in the
GlasSalon at the Toledo Museum of Art with Jess M.L. Liebler,
a Detroit-based, award-winning poet and editor of the
anthology Heaven Was Detroit: From Jazz to Hip-Hop and
Beyond; Frances Brockington, classical vocalist and
associate professor of voice at Wayne State University; and
Dr. Lee Ellen Martin, jazz vocalist and Jon Hendricks
scholar. Mack and Duchan will moderate the discussion, which
also will be followed by a musical performance and Q&A
session. Jess and Liebler also will sign copies of their
books, which will be available for purchase.
I Got a Lust for Life: The Unique Words and Sounds of
Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan is sponsored by
the Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities at The University
of Toledo, which advocates for and supports the study of
human culture – from a great variety of fields – at all
levels of learning and scholarship. Additional support for
the program is provided by UT, WSU, the Toledo Lucas County
Public Library, Toledo.com and the Toledo Museum of Art.
Toledo
events:
Poetry Reading
2:30 p.m.
McMaster Center, Main Library
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
325 N. Michigan St., Toledo
Free parking is available in the Main Library?s
underground parking structure.
Panel Discussion
6 p.m.
GlasSalon, Glass Pavilion
Toledo Museum of Art
2444 Monroe St., Toledo
Free parking is available across the street from the
Glass Pavilion, in the Art Museum?s Lot #6 (enter on
Parkwood Avenue).
For more information, contact:
Kimberly Mack
323.839.2021
kimberly.mack@utoledo.edu
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