Feast in ‘The Potluck of Possibilities,’ then explore ‘Northern Witness’ at Cal State L.A.
Poetry series to feature Afro-Canadian poet Vanessa Richards
“The Potluck of Possibilities”
Tuesday, Jan. 20 – 6:30 p.m.
Engineering & Technology Building, room A126, on the Cal State L.A. campus
“Northern Witness: An Evening of Poetry and Songs with Vanessa Richards”
Wednesday, Jan. 21 – 6:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Room, University-Student Union, on the Cal State L.A. campus
Los Angeles, CA -- Visiting Cal State L.A. from Canada this month is Vanessa Richards, a multi-talented Afro-Canadian poet, performer, songwriter and filmmaker.
As part of the CSULA Poetry Series, Richards will present ”The Potluck of Possibilities” on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 6:30 p.m., in Engineering and Technology A126, and “Northern Witness: An Evening of Poetry and Songs with Vanessa Richards” on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 6:30p.m., in the Los Angeles Room (308A) of the University-Student Union.
Richards, born in Vancouver, is an interdisciplinary artist with a foundation in writing, music, live art, theatre, and collaboration. Her interests include participatory process, leading-edge practices in community-based arts and the role of the arts and artists in urban regeneration. She also sings in a quartet called Radiant Sound.
While in London from 1992 to 2004, she founded and served as artistic director of performing arts company Mannafest; toured clubs, concert halls and galleries; and delivered socially-engaged projects.
Since returning to Vancouver she has worked with and for Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver International Writers Festival, Hollyhock Leadership Institute and CBC-ZeD TV. As artist-in-residence at Public Dreams Society in 2005-2006, she conceptualized and developed Mountain Mardi Gras, the first intercultural winter carnival project in North Vancouver. For more about Richards, go to http://vanessarichards.wordpress.com/
Richard’s visit is supported by the CSULA Center for Contemporary Poetry and Poetics, Department of English, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, call the Cal State L.A. English Department at (323) 343-4140.
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 205,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu