Commemorating Poet Nikki Giovanni; & A Commentary on "Wicked"

Details

Tune into Out-FM on Tues., January 7, 2025 from 8:00-9:00 pm ET, on 99.5 FM WBAI/NY

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Nikki Giovanni at Emory University

 

Nikki Giovanni at Emory University

by Brett Weinstein, CC BY-SA 2.0  via Wikimedia Commons

Commemorating Poet Nikki Giovanni

Tonight we commemorate the life and times of Poet Nikki Giovanni who made her transition on Dec 9, 2024, at age 81. Poet Cheryl Boyce Taylor and Out-FM producer Stahimili Mapp will discuss Giovanni’s  development and contribution to the Black Arts Movement of the last century, her role as and contribution to later poetry movements as well as her crossover appeal.

And what, if any impact, did her identity as a black lesbian have on her poetry?

Cheryl Boyce Taylor

Younger Nikki Giovanni

Nikki Giovanni

Poet Cheryl Boyce Taylor

Who is the Terrorist?

A Commentary on "Wicked" by Peter Jonas

The question of who and what is a terrorist comes to play in the film "Wicked," a dazzling musical with much to offer the queer world.  Taken from a dark novel and morphed into an upbeat, eye-popping spectacle of captivating dance and exhilarating song, Wicked serves as a prequel which presents an alternative narrative on Elphaba, previously known in The Wizard of Oz as The Wicked Witch of the West.  In this variation, we get to know a complicated and nuanced character who begins life as an outcast and becomes a righteous, renegade activist in the fascist, apartheid state of Oz.  What can we learn from this story as we are confronted with the fascism of the oncoming white supremacist tRump regime? Listen to this episode of Out-FM for the full commentary (starts at 38:53) or read it HERE.

Announcement: Palestinian Film Festival

"From Ground Zero" combines 22 short films by Palestinian filmmakers. They give a remarkable, chilling look at what is really happening to people in Gaza. They show the personal day-to-day effects the genocide is having on Gazans of all ages. Seeing this movie is as close as most of us can come to being there. From Jan. 10-16, it's playing at Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street in Manhattan. 
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