We begin the week with a look at some theatre window poetry, Nikki Giovanni’s new book and the unseen works of a Chinese poet that have gone on display.

Theatre Window Poetry

An artist from Zimbabwe and a PhD student are amongst the five city poets who will be having their poetry showcased in the window of a theatre.

The work is part of a project called “Humanistan”, which was put on hold earlier in the year due to the pandemic. There are a total of five brand new pieces and they will be going on display, one per month from October to the end of February.

Each of the poems looks at the diversity of culture in the region, the struggles that people have faced being part of the community and the prejudices that are around. The concept of Humanistan – “istan” meaning land, a place or country; human country, takes inspiration from the works of writers like Ben Okri and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Nikki Giovanni Presents New Book Virtually

On Tuesday “Make Me Rain” Nikki Giovanni’s newest poetry book will hit the shelves. Giovanni recently explained the inspiration behind the titular poem of the book which contains a mixture of both poetry and prose.

She was driving in her car listening to an old Jazz tune with the same name, the rhythm of driving combined with the rhythm of the music inspired her to think of several lines for the poem, worried that she might forget them she pulled over to the side of the road and wrote an entire poem before continuing on her journey home.

To help with the launch of the book she will also be giving a virtual discussion about some of the poems, many of which continue to express the pride that she has in her heritage whilst also reminding people of the injustices of gender issues and race. Now in her 70’s she feels that she brings a lot to her poetry that she was not able to when she was younger, a different perspective that comes with age.

During her illustrious career that spans several decades Giovanni has won NAAPC”s Image Award seven times, was the first person to receive the

and also holds the

She has penned at least 28 books and is a Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech.

Never Before Seen Works of Poet go on Display

The Beijing Art Museum has unveiled an exhibition in honour of Wu Changshuo, the prominent poet, painter and calligrapher who was one of the most important artists of the late Qing Dynasty. Wu, who died in 1927, was known for his Chinese traditional paintings; particularly those featuring birds and flowers.

Titled “Wu Changshuo’s Pudong Bond” the exhibition will be open until 15^th November and will feature more than 100 works by Wu; including some that have never before been on display to the public.

Wu travelled all over the country before finally settling in Shanghai. However, his connection to Pudong dates from around 1890 when he visited the area to perform charitable acts, some of which feature in his poetry. He also wrote many poems about the countryside of the Pudong area.