Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora is partnering with the Poetry Foundation to present O|Sessions: Black Listening — A Performance Masterclass, a free two-day online workshop on the role of listening and improvisation in performance.
The program invites participants to delve into the art of deep listening as a primary, yet overlooked, method of composing, revising, performing, and invigorating work. Workshops will be led by award-winning poets and performance artists avery r. young, Rosamond S. King, Douglas Kearney, and Duriel E. Harris.
The online sessions will be from 2-5 p.m. (CST) July 16-17. Applications are due June 3, 2022. Find information and application here.
O|Sessions is a series that creates a space unapologetically focused on illuminating Black presence and Black creative expression and imagination across the diaspora. Developed in response to audience requests for deeper engagement with artists presenting in #ObsidianVoices, O|Sessions increases writers’ and readers’ access to creative writing and related arts education and conversation.
Unveiled on World Listening Day 2021, the first iteration of O|Sessions is centered around Black Listening.
Session participants will have the opportunity to workshop an existing work in small group settings, the opportunity to have a one-on-one with one of the instructors after the session, and will be featured in a culminating event to be held in Spring 2023. Attendees will receive a $300 USD stipend for their participation, a book bundle of works by the workshop leaders, a 1-year subscription to Obsidian, and a copy of Obsidian vol. 45.2 “What Tell Freedom Now” featuring the folio “See What I’m Saying Is.”
