To celebrate the release of his new book\, \;A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance \, \;New York Times bestselling author Hanif Abdurraqib will be j oined by artist &\; educator Dionne Custer Edwards\, composer &\; ed ucator Dr. Mark Lomax\, II\, and musician &\; sculptor Paisha Thomas on Zoom for a discussion about significant performances by Black artists in American history. Each speaker will reflect on a video\, book\, or song th at is personally meaningful to them\, followed by a Q&\;A at the end of the event.
\nHanif Abdurraqib is a poet\, essayist \, and cultural critic from Columbus\, Ohio. \;His poetry has been pub lished in \;Muzzle\, Vinyl\, PEN American\, \;and various other journals. His essays and music criticism have been published in&nbs p\;The FADER\, Pitchfork\, \;The New Yorker\, and \;T he New York Times. \;His first full length poetry collection\,&nb sp\;The Crown Ain't Worth Much\, \;was released in June 2016 from Button Poetry. It was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Prize \, and was nominated for a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. With Big Lucks\, h e released a limited edition chapbook\, \;Vintage Sadness\, i n summer 2017 (you cannot get it anymore and he is very sorry.) His first collection of essays\, \;They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us\, was released in winter 2017 by Two Dollar Radio and was named a book o f the year by \;Buzzfeed\, Esquire\, NPR\, Oprah Magazine\, Paste\ , CBC\, The Los Angeles Review\, Pitchfork\, \;and \;The Chicago Tribune\, among others. \;He released \;Go Ahead In The Rain: Notes To A Tribe Called Quest \;with University of T exas press in February 2019. The book became a New York Times Bestseller\, was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize\, and was longlisted for the National Book Award. His second collection of poems\, \;A Fortune For Your Disaster\, was released in 2019 by Tin House\, and won the 2020 Leno re Marshall Prize. In 2021\, he will release the book A Little Devil I n America with Random House. He is a graduate of Beechcroft High Scho ol.
\nDionne Custer Edwards is the Director of Lear ning and Public Practice at the Wexner Center for the Arts where she overs ees education programming and has pioneered several groundbreaking educati on programs&mdash\;including \;Pages\, an art and writing program&mdas h\;serving hundreds of high school students a year from across central Ohi o. Embedded in her art and education practices is Dionne&rsquo\;s commitme nt to work in diversity\, equity\, inclusion\, and access. In partnership with Wex board member\, Alex Shumate\, Dionne helped to conceptualize and sustain the work of the \;Shumate Council&mdash\;projects\, programs\, and initiatives committed to diversity\, inclusion\, and access to the ar ts. Dionne has received awards and fellowships for her work in the arts\, including a 12-month fellowship with Americans for the Arts\, and two nomi nations\, for a Greater Columbus Arts Council Community Arts Partnership a ward. Dionne has presented and been a featured speaker at several national conferences on her work and research in arts education&mdash\;including a t the Indianapolis Museum of Art TEDx conference&mdash\;where she spoke on 21st century learning.
\nWhile Dionne is an arts educator\, arts ad ministrator\, and programmer&mdash\;she is also a practicing artist. She h as published critical and literary writing\, internationally and nationall y in Sanat Dü\;nyamiz (&ldquo\;Our Art World&rdquo\;)\, Turkey\, Journ al GEARTE\, Brazil\, and in the University of Arizona&rsquo\;s Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeare d in 3Elements Review\, Barren Magazine\, Entropy Magazine\, Flock\, Gordo n Square Review\, Grist\, Porter House Review\, Storm Cellar\, The Seventh Wave\, Tahoma Literary Review\, and others.
\nDionne has a MA in Ar ts Education and Creative Writing\, Antioch University and a BA in English \, Ohio State University.
\nDr. Mark Lomax\, II\, i
s a critically acclaimed composer\, recording artist\, drummer\, activist\
, and educator. In one of the timeliest and unprecedented pieces of work o
f our history\, Lomax released 400: An Afrikan Epic in January 2019. This
magnum opus consists of a 12 album cycle\, a curriculum\, and a documentar
y that ambitiously tells the story of the Afrikan diaspora. Divided into t
hirds\, the Epic and explores thousands of years of the history that is pr
e-colonial Afrika\, the Ma&rsquo\;afa (400 years between 1619 and 2019)\,
and Afro-futurism expressing a vision of what Blacks in America will heal
toward in the next 400 years. Largely self funded\, the 400 was supported
by a residency at The Wexner Center for the Arts. Quoted in Columbus Month
ly\, Lane Czaplinski\, Wexner performing arts director says\, &ldquo\;Mark
is an absolute experimentalist ... and this huge\, deep project will look
at the legacy of jazz from the past all the way to the future.&rdquo\; Lo
max also calls 400: An Afrikan Epic\, an opportunity to celebrate the resi
lience\, brilliance\, strength\, genius\, and creativity of a people who c
ontinue to endure while offering a transformative view of the future.
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A high
ly sought-after lecturer\, Lomax specializes in the socio-political\, and
spiritual aspects of African-American art music\, race\, and using the art
s to build community. These ideas are documented in his TED \;Talk Act
ivating The Transformative Power Of Trust\, and his weekly COVID-inspired
youtube show\, \;Drumversations. Lomax adamantly declares that &ldquo\
;there has never been a time in his life that music was not a part of me.&
rdquo\; Heavily influenced by his father\, a pastor\, and mother\, a compo
ser of gospel music\, Lomax was introduced to gospel and jazz at an early
age. He continued his study of gospel music with Dr. Raymond Wise\, founde
r of the Center for the Gospel Arts.
Lomax has toured with the Del feayo Marsalis Sextet and worked with notable artists such as Clark Terry\ , Marlon Jordan\, Azar Lawrence\, Bennie Maupin\, Billy Harper\, Nicholas Payton\, Ellis Marsalis\, and Wessel Anderson\, among others. Jazz Times s ays Lomax&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;forceful drumming would have made Elvin Jones p roud.&rdquo\; He has also been a resident artist with the Cincinnati Symph ony (2019)\, Denison University (2017)\, and has presented the 400 across the country at various colleges\, universities\, art and community organiz ations.
\nDr. Lomax holds a Doctor of Music Arts degree in compositi on from The Ohio State University. His myriad experiences have allowed him to create a unique blend of styles in his music. Whether he&rsquo\;s inte rpreting the Negro Spiritual through jazz\, arranging gospel music for a s ymphony orchestra\, or performing his original works\, his music is releva nt\, probing\, and inspiring.
\nPaisha Thomas \ ;is a local artist\, and advocate for justice. She is currently working on a contract with Faith in Public Life as Racial Justice Campaign Coordinat or. In the summer of 2020\, amid civil unrest\, Paisha co-founded Say it L oud Columbus: Music for the movement. In addition to music\, she creates c eramic pottery and sculptures. \;
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