25th annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading

PROVIDENCE — On Sunday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m., the 25th annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading will be held at the Providence Career & Technical Academy Auditorium, 41 Fricker St., Providence.

The annual celebration of the poems of the national icon – Langston Hughes – recognizes his 118th birthday. This event exposes audiences young and old to the brilliance of Langston Hughes as both a writer and voice of the Harlem Renaissance. A diverse group of individuals from communities across Southern New England participate by reading and performing selected poems from Hughes’ extensive collection of work. Becky Bass and Friends will be joining us to provide musical accompaniment for the afternoon.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary, the committee has commissioned Emily Ruth Hazelto write an original poem. Hazelto, originally from New England, recently transplanted to Los Angeles via New

York City. She is a cross-pollinating poet, writer, and lyricist who was awarded the 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Distinguished Fellowship.

The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and a perfect way to kick off Black History Month. Please join in for an afternoon of great entertainment, community sharing and fun.

We are excited to once again partner with the Providence Public Library and Rhode Island Black

Storytellers. We are also generously funded by the Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities & the Rhode Island Foundation.

Please enter using the Cranston

Street entrance.

For more information, email lhughescp2017@gmail.com. Keep up to date on all of our upcoming events by following on Facebook,Instagram and Twitter.