Michael Kleber-Diggs and Cynthia Parker-Ohene: November 16, 2023

The Poetry Center presents Michael Kleber-Diggs and Cynthia Parker-Ohene, each reading from their recent books of poetry. Parker-Ohene selected Kleber-Diggs' book Worldly Things (Milkweed Editions, 2021) to receive the Poetry Center Book Award. Kleber-Diggs, reading from that work, is preceded by Parker-Ohene reading from her book Daughters of Harriet (The Center for Literary Publishing, Colorado State University, 2022). Following their readings the two of them engage with one another over the questions and possibilities raised by their poetry, and respond to questions from their online audience. 

Publisher
American Poetry Archives
Location
The Poetry Center (Remote Access Event)
Date
2023-11-16
Event Run Time
01:28:26
Contributors
Steve Dickison
Enrique Garcia
Rights

©© American Poetry Archives. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. For all other uses please email poetry@sfsu.edu

Views
1055
Downloads
970

Cynthia Parker-Ohene (00:15:54)

Cynthia Parker-Ohene reads from Daughters of Harriet. 

Michael Kleber-Diggs (00:21:19)

Michael Kleber-Diggs reads from Worldly Things.

Conversation (00:44:21)

Following their readings, Michael Kleber-Diggs and Cynthia Parker-Ohene engage in conversation with one another, with questions from Steve Dickison as emcee, and engage with the online audience. Among other subjects they speak to racialized medicine in the US, after a poem by Parker-Ohene on the early death of her mother from cancer. Kleber-Diggs, on request, reads "Blue Eggshells" and speaks to senses of fragility and mortality raised by the poem. Again at Ohene-Parker's request, Kleber-Diggs reads "America is Loving Me to Death" — written after the July 2016 police killing of Philando Castile in the Minneapolis area, where the poet lives. 

This is followed by responses to questions from the online audience, addressing among other subjects working as poets while working within other professions (in these instances as a lawyer, as a psychotherapist).

Related Items

Julia Drescher and C. J. Martin: October 26, 2023 Mural on the side of The American Indian Center at 229 Valencia Street - 1983 William Stafford: November 29, 1967 Medicine mask. Lifeline Magnet - 2004 Magnet - 2005 (1 of 2) Magnet - 2005 (2 of 2) Kiki Petrosino and Tongo Eisen-Martin: December 1, 2022 The American Indian Center at 229 Valencia Street - 1983 Arabic Book Center at 791 Valencia - 1988 Magnet on 18th Street Ashley Toliver and Jason Bayani: September 17, 2020 Medicine bags. 18th Street & Hartford Street - 2014, Emergence