James Brandon Lewis, Chris Hoffman and Poets for Jazz Poetry Month - In Person or ONLINE - Alphabet City
James Brandon Lewis
Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and cellist Chris Hoffman perform an evening of duos, including original compositions and live improvisations.
James Brandon Lewis, also a poet, will read his work and collaborate with poets M. Soledad Caballero, Joel Dias-Porter and Youth Poet Laureate of Allegheny County Danielle Obisie-Orlu.
Featured Poets
Joel Dias-Porter (aka DJ Renegade) was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, and a former nightclub DJ. He was a 5 time Individual Finalist in the National Poetry Slam and the 1998 & 1999 Haiku Slam Champion. In 1995, He received the Furious Flower “Emerging Poet Award.” Performances include the Today Show, SlamNation, on BET, and the film Slam. A Cave Canem fellow, he has a book “Ideas of Improvisation” forthcoming from Thread Makes Blanket Press in Spring 2022.
Danielle Obisie-Orlu is Nigerian-American student, actress and poet who grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a trained public speaker, receiving accolades in speech, drama, and debate. She attends the University of Pittsburgh and is double majoring in International & Area Studies and Political Science, with minors in Sociology and French. She is devoted to fostering environments of intersectional community, belonging, and empowerment. She is passionate about migration, belonging, and international human rights law; partners with ARSYE to empower migrant youth and refugee voices; and is a student leader on her campus.
M. Soledad Caballero is Professor of English and co-chair of the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at Allegheny College. Her scholarship focuses on British Romanticism, travel writing, and interdisciplinarity. She is a Macondo fellow, a CantoMundo fellow, has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes, and was winner of the 2019 Joy Harjo poetry contest sponsored by Cutthroat: A Journal of the Arts. Her first collection, I Was a Bell, won the 2019 Benjamin Saltman poetry prize and will be published by Red Hen Press in 2021.
There are two ways to watch the program: in-person at Alphabet City or live-streamed online. If you’re coming live, you can also dine at the in-house restaurant 40 North.
Please scroll to the bottom to review the Covid-19 safety policies for indoor programs @ Alphabet City, including the proof of vaccination requirement.
Covid-19 policies for indoor programs [at Alphabet City] as of September 1, 2021
To keep our audience safe, we will require proof of vaccination (physical card or photo) to attend all events at Alphabet City.
There will be special accommodations for children under 12 and people with medical conditions or religious beliefs preventing them from being vaccinated. These audience members will be asked to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test within 72 hours of the performance start time, or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within 6 hours of the performance start time.
All guests will be required to wear masks.
Audience size will be limited to 60% total capacity and seats will be set up with moderate social distancing.
Please remember there is a restaurant, 40 North, inside our open concept venue. Diners will be required to show proof of vaccination but will not wear masks while seated at tables.