Adding poetry, rhythm and music to the Wisconsin Book Festival
Some of the best known names in poetry and hip-hop, from Sonia Sanchez and Danny Simmons to the latest members of the First Wave Hip Hop Theater Ensemble, will take the words of the Wisconsin Book Festival to the next level with poetry, rhythm and music.
This year’s Passing the Mic Spoken Word Series will be held in conjunction with the annual book fest Oct. 20-22.
This year’s series will highlight and celebrate the work of African-American artists Sonia Sanchez and Danny Simmons, who will both do readings. Hosted by Jessica Care-Moore and a member of First Wave, this signature event of the Wisconsin Book Festival will involve poets from the revolutionary First Wave Hip-Hop Theater Ensemble at the UW–Madison, as well as the Midwest Youth Poetry Slam All-Stars representing youth communities from Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and the Twin Cities.
The event will open with the Just Bust Spoken Word & Hip Hop Open Mic from 9-11 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, in Memorial Union’s Play Circle, hosted by First Wave.
On Friday, Oct. 21, the event will host the Encyclopedia Show at 7 p.m. in the Overture Center’s Wisconsin Studio featuring Robbie Q. and Shanny Jean Maney with special guest Lynda Barry and other surprise guests.
Robbie Q. Telfer is currently the director of performances for Young Chicago Authors, a nonprofit that gives creative writing, performance, and mentorship opportunities to Chicago teens.
In 2008, along with Maney, a performance poet and teacher, Telfer co-founded The Encyclopedia Show, a live literary variety show that presents different topics at each show. Since its founding, the show has spread to over a dozen cities in four different countries around the world.
Barry is one of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip “Ernie Pook’s Comeek.” Barry’s cartoons often view family life from the perspective of pre-teen girls from the wrong side of the tracks, along with her book, “The Good Times are Killing Me,” about an interracial friendship between two young girls.
“Passing the Mic” will culminate on Saturday, Oct. 22 with an intergenerational tribute to Sanchez and Simmons from 8-10 p.m. in the Overture Center’s Capitol Theater featuring Jessica Care-Moore, a poet, publisher, activist, rock star, playwright and actor.
Sharing the stage Saturday night will be HBO Def Poetry on Broadway veterans Mayda del Valle and Black Ice, First Wave Hip-Hop Theater Ensemble and the Midwest Spoken Word and Hip-Hop All-Stars. Prior to the show will be a 7:15 p.m. book signing with Sonia Sanchez and guest artists in the lobby.
First Wave is a multicultural artistic program for incoming UW–Madison students and the first university program in the nation centered on Spoken Word and Hip-Hop culture.
