Announcing the 2011 Cycle II Grant Recipients

Grant Awards Will Be Presented at a Ceremony this Evening at the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Major Grants

• Washington's Mural's as Spectacle and Message - City Arts Inc.
• Advanced Photography Training for At-Risk DC Youth Critical Exposure
• The 2012 Environmental Film Festival in the Nations Capital
• Shakespeare Steps Out - Folger Shakespeare Library
• 2012 Children's Gallery of Black History - MOMIE's TLC
• One World Education Units: Single Parent Families & Language in America - One World Education
• The Africa Club with Sadiki - Sadiki Educational Safari, Inc.
• Documenting Your Story (Documentary Video Storytelling Seminar) - Stone Soup Films
• Thurgood Marshall Academy's Community Archives Program - Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School
• Washington Storytellers' Theatre DBA Renewal and Enhancement of SpeakeasyDC's podcast - Speakeasy DC
• Voices of Health - Whitman Walker Health
• Our City Film Festival - Yachad, Inc

Small Grants

• Civil War Reading Series - Georgetown Theatre Company
• The Finding Gabriela DC Youth Poetry Competition - The In Series, Inc.
• Southwest Heritage Project - Southwest Neighborhood Assembly
• 38th Annual Conference on DC Historical Studies - Friends of the Washingtoniana Division
• In Their Own Words – DCPS Students - Global Harmony Through Personal Excellence, Inc.
• "Brookland, not Brooklyn" Discussion Guide - Black Women Playwrights’ Group
•  The Mother Story Project - The Sanctuary Theatre

We look forward to seeing the enriching programs, events, and projects produced by these outstanding organizations!

Midnight Poetry Slam!

Open Call for Slammers!

We would like to issue a small correction (with good news) to the previous post! The National Underground Spokenword Poetry Awards IS accepting entries for the Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC poetry slam which will take place at the Warehouse Theatre on September 24th from 10:30PM-1:30AM.

If you are interested in participating, please contact KaNikki Jakarta at kanikkij[at]gmail[dot]com.

The current list of slammers includes:

Shelly Bell

Mary Bowman

Sarah Lawson

Selina Maria

YaYa

Anais

Roscoe Burnems

Drew Law

Dwayne B

PAGES

Joseph LMS

Big Homey

Stay Up Late With the Humanities Council

Check Out Our Lineup for the First Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC

Washington art and culture is taking over the night on September 24-25, and the Humanities Council will be doing its part at the Warehouse Theatre, 645 New York Ave, NW, from 7PM to 3AM. The event, called Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC is modeled on similar festivals popular in Europe. The concept has recently been replicated on this side of the Atlantic in Montreal, Toronto, New York, and Miami among others, and starting this year, the nation's capital will begin to get in on the fun!

The Humanities Council's set kicks off with Thomas Sayers Ellis, a poet and photographer who will demonstrate his latest work – a photography exhibition on Go-Go, currently on display at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, called (Un)Lock It: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket. Sayers will project his images, using them to tell the story of Go-Go, the “non-stop, vernacular dance music unique to Washington, DC.”

At 8PM, If Not For Grace, will demonstrate another artistic style unique to Washington, DC – Hand Dance. The organization will offer a lecture, performance, and a participatory demonstration in which the audience will be invited to hand dance in the authentic DC style!

Later, the Humanities Council will bring its popular Humanitini to the stage. The evening's discussion “From Clubs to Pub,” will uncover the unique culture of DC night life, and will explore how it has changed throughout the years. Panelists will include Kate Micheal of K Street Kate, club DJ Adrian Loving, and opera follower-turned-nightlife scene man, Mood Bacho. The discussion will be moderated by Amy Saidman of SpeakeasyDC, and, as always, will turn on audience participation!

Washington, always a center of literary activity, has become a haven for modern poets and spokenword artists, and thus, no celebration of DC culture would be complete without a poetry slam! In partnership with the National Underground Spokenword Poetry Awards, the Humanities Council will offer a $200 prize to the best of the evening's registered participants. Make sure to drop in on the Warehouse Theatre for this one; the slam is set to begin at 10:30PM and will carry us over into the next day, ending at 1:30AM. The poets lined up for the event are seasoned competitors, so count on being impressed. If you think you have what it takes, step up to the open mic after the competition and show them what you've got!

After the poetry slam and open mic, grammy-nominated progressive hip-hop artist, Christylez Bacon will take over the stage until 3AM. As a performer, Christylez multi-tasks between various instruments such as the West African djembe drum, acoustic guitar, and the human beat-box (oral percussion), all while continuing the oral tradition of storytelling through his lyrics. Christylez will close out the evening, sending the audience out into the night, eyes and minds full, looking forward to next year!

Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC will take place on the night of September 24-25th all across the Mt. Vernon Square and Shaw neighborhoods of Washington. Check out the event website for more information on participating artists and event sites.

Live to Read Partners Stage Poetry Workshop

Read One Participant's Powerful Work

As part of the first annual Live to Read, the Humanities Council, Split This Rock Poetry, and Beltway Poetry Quarterly held a creative writing workshop called "Breaking the Silence." The program mirrored the themes of Lynn Nottage's Ruined, this year's Live to Read literature selection. The event received great feedback from the participants including the following note from Brenda Bunting. Thank you, Brenda, for allowing us to feature your work!

---

"I very much enjoyed the Breaking the Silence Workshop. It was invaluable to me as a poet/writer and sexual abuse survivor. Here is the poem I wrote from the workshop. I hope you will add it to the blog."

-Brenda Bunting

Wreaked
My clothes are neatly folded blood spattered
soaked with semen and dried by the sun
In daylight I walk darkly stiff sore afraid
To go to the hospital fearful of the police
Officer Vicious visited my home last night
Told me to be quiet so I will be silent until
I realize it was my fault only then I get to speak
I will sleep in the same bed I was raped in
I will smile at my children and continue to care
I will excel at the college do my homework
and look forward to graduation
I will not go to the Rape Crisis Center
I will not go to any physician or doctor
I will pretend this never happened until
I believe it never happened.


Live to Read is Washington, DC's city-wide celebration of literature. This year's selected work of literature is Ruined, a Pulitzer Prize-winning play written by Lynn Nottage. The play is currently running at Arena Stage. Next week, the Humanities Council and the DC Public Library will distribute copies of the book at selected libraries. The Humanities Council encourages all Washingtonians to read and discuss the play.

Courageous Vision II

More Poetry From Last Week's Live To Read Event

Artwork from Courageous Vision at the P Street, NW Whole Foods

My Philosophy of Life

Dale Demonia a.k.a. MC Lord D

To live is to fly like an eagle

and let your spirit run free

and climbing the highest mountains

and reaching your destiny

and never ever looking back

for you may take a fall

and always praise your almighty God

spreading inspiration wherever you may go,

telling all the people things

what they really need to know

like getting out of the fast lane and taking it slow

life will last a long long time

if we live it slowly in our mind

Life is beautiful it's a gift from God,

that's why we live it softly but not too hard.

To live is to be happy with our heart full of joy

and sometimes living our lives like a fairy story

and always climbing up to the highest height

and working through the day

and making heavenly love at night.

But life does have its ups and downs

that's why we should keep our heads to the sky

and wipe away frowns

and never ever putting anyone down

and live our life proudly like a king wears his crown.

To live is to dream life's most beautiful dreams

like standing on a mountain top like Dr. Martin Luther King

and drinking those fresh waters that runs from a stream.

To live is to enjoy ourself like a child enjoys ice cream

and always lending your fellow man a helping helping hand

and showing all God's children just where you stand.

And remember you are one in a billion like a pebble in the sand.

To live is to love, joy, peace, and caring

and whatever we may do to keep ourselves living free

we should always hod to our dignity.

ps. Ther's one thing we must all remember

that life goes on and on

it locks into all eternity every time a child is born.

Written by me, MC Lord D

About Live to Read

This series of programs is the Humanities Council's annual celebration of literature and city-wide read. All Washingtonians are encouraged to participate in the series of discussions, workshops, and live performances held by the HCWDC and its partners which focus on a single work of fiction.

Courageous Vision

Poetry From the Miriam's Kitchen Art Therapy Exhibition

Last night's Live to Read event was a great success. Artists from Miriam's kitchen displayed their works and read poetry inspired by the Lynn Nottage's Ruined, and its persistent theme of courage. Below is the exhibition statement written by Kate Baasch, Miriam's Kitchen's art therapist, and a poem by James Morris.

Artwork from the exhibition.

Courageous Vision - Kate Baasch, MA Art Therapy

The Miriam's Kitchen community is proud to participate in this year's Live to Read. Our partnership with the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the P Street Whole Foods brings our community together in unprecedented ways- and we invite you to join us. This year's literary selection, Ruined, a play by Lynn Nottage, has encouraged the artists and poets who utilize Miriam's Studio to engage in on-going explorations of what courage means thematically and practically. Through artwork and writing, the artists, writers, and staff of Miriam's Kitchen have delved into the complexities of Nottage's play. The artworks on display here can be thought of as visual records of artists' reflecting, offering, and responding to the challenge Ruined presents us all: What is courage, and what does courage mean in this play; in the torn setting of the Congo; in our own country; in our lives?

---

What is Courage

James Morris

Courage, oh Courage, the dictionary says your

origin is France and Rome, Romance Languages

indeed. You began with the concept of hear or

spirit, now you have an English accent of

enduring pain and suffering, not romantic at all.

But, you are still the driving spirit of life.

Those you bless are indestructible. A soldier

touched by you finds enemies hiding in fear not

wanting to feel pain or suffer. Mediocre is not seen when you appear

Cupid, another romantic idea, makes people

embrace, such an easy affair. But when

your sword is raised and put in the hands of

your chosen, his training and more shine

bright accomplishing impossible feats.

But soldiers are not your only vehicle. Teachers,

police, firemen, politicians, social workers and

even fallen heroes that suddenly leap from

the Grim Reaper's cycle like a boxer at the

count of ten.

Many many more heroes abound in all walks

of life. Anybody who can still breathe can

suddenly feel your spirit, and even

if fallen by life's fickle choices

will come roaring back to life

and avoid the final crash.

ALL HAIL MOST honorable

Courage.

Check out more of Morris' work at http://www.poetrysoup.com .