PITTSBURGH, PA — Beginning Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 7:00 PM at Alphabet City, City of Asylum presents the 19th annual celebration of Jazz Poetry. Jazz Poetry Month 2023 is a one-of-a-kind festival which includes 9 concerts featuring 50+ performers as well as several jazz and poetry workshops. Jazz Poetry Month programs are free and take place throughout the month of May at City of Asylum’s Alphabet City venue in the North Side. Every event is available both in person and livestreamed.
Jazz Poetry Month attendees will enjoy never-before-seen collaborations between writers and musicians, both new and returning to the Alphabet City stage. Award-winning artists include James Brandon Lewis, Terrance Hayes, Eileen Myles, Mihály Borbély, Ben Okri, Elina Duni, Sumita Chakraborty, and many more.
“City of Asylum’s Jazz Poetry Month is an opportunity for audiences to experience new collaborations between writers and musicians during a month-long period of creative partnership,” says Charlotte Cohen, City of Asylum’s Interim Executive Director. “Jazz Poetry is our longest running program, and it is one that is key to our history and mission: offering a broad range of programs in a community setting to build social equity through cultural exchange”
Jazz Poetry began with City of Asylum’s first writer-in-residence, Huang Xiang, in 2004. Huang Xiang was an emphatic performer, but he did not speak English. Tasked with the creative challenge of helping Pittsburghers connect with his poetry despite a language barrier, City of Asylum facilitated a collaboration between Huang Xiang and jazz legend Oliver Lake. The two artists hosted a one-night-only performance, interpreting and riffing off of one another’s art to create something truly special. Though their decidedly unique performance could never be duplicated, the tradition has been passed down for nearly two decades, growing every year to encompass not just one day, but an entire month of innovative rhythm and verse.
“Jazz Poetry is the embodiment of the experimentation, collaboration, and freedom of creative expression that is so central to making art across genres,” says Kelsey Ford, City of Asylum’s Director of Programs. “Our 2023 Jazz Poetry Month lineup explores and expands on these foundations of creative collaboration between musicians and poets by featuring genre-crossing music, multi-generational performances, and wide representation of cultures and identities.”
The 2023 Jazz Poetry Month lineup:
(All programs take place at 7:00 PM at Alphabet City, 40 W. North Ave., Pittsburgh, PA)
Wed. 5/3: James Brandon Lewis, Terrance Hayes, Cynthia Dewi Oka, and George Abraham
Sun. 5/7: Elina Duni, Rob Luft, Mj Shahen, and Yalie Saweda Kamara
Mon. 5/8: Elina Duni, Rob Luft, Ben Okri, and Jorge Olivera Castillo
Sun. 5/14: Alexia Bomtempo, Eileen Myles, Hiromi Itō, and Rachelle Escamilla
Sun. 5/21: Mihály Borbély, Ariana Benson, Gaia Rajan, and Rania Mamoun
Wed. 5/24: Mihály Borbély, Cameron Awkward-Rich, Tabassam Shah, and Anouar Rahmani
Sun. 5/28: Dyer Rosenbloom Kitamura, Sumita Chakraborty, Rosebud Ben-Oni, and Doralee Brooks
Tues. 5/30: WeFreeStrings, Orlando Watson, and Roy G. Guzmán
Wed. 5/31: Hip Hop Orchestra, Rho Bloom-Wang, Jade Davis, Audrey Alling, and Aja Lynn
More information about the artists, upcoming performances, and reservations available by visiting https://cityofasylum.org/jazz-poetry-month/ The concerts are free, but reservations are recommended. Doors open at 6:00 PM. Concerts start at 7:00 PM. Performances will also be livestreamed.
Jazz Poetry Month is made possible by the generous support from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Trust for Mutual Understanding. Media sponsorship courtesy of WZUM.
About City of Asylum:
City of Asylum builds a just community by protecting and celebrating freedom of creative expression. We provide sanctuary to endangered writers and artists, so that they can continue to create and their voices are not silenced. We offer a broad range of free literary, arts, and humanities programs in a community setting to build social equity through cultural exchange. And by transforming dilapidated properties into homes for our programs, we anchor neighborhood economic development.
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