Poet Gwendolyn Brooks, in her 1967 occasional poem “The Chicago Picasso,” observed that: “Art hurts. Art urges voyages-/ and it is easier to stay at home, / the nice beer ready.” This notion invites the consideration of a lyric: Darling, you send me. Written in 1955 by the late singer Sam Cooke and released in 1957, “You Send Me” is timeless in theme and durability. How might a poem ‘send’ us? Leafing through Kevin Young’s repertoire of poets and poems, we’ll situate ‘sending’ as an effect responsive to desire and surrender. Mixing our thoughts, “Lift Every Voice” in mind, we’ll make an evening of our musings.
The event will feature Rodney Terich Leonard, Lise Esdaile, Trapeta B. Mayson, and Monnette Sudler.
Rodney Terich Leonard is the author of Sweetgum & Lightning (Four Way Books, 2021). His poems have been published in BOMB, Four Way Review, the Cortland Review, What Rough Beast, and other journals. He holds an M F A in poetry from Columbia University. A native of Alabama, Rodney currently lives in New York City.
Trapeta B. Mayson is the city of Philadelphia 2020-2021 Poet Laureate. She is a recipient of a Pew Fellowship in Literature, Leeway Transformation Award, Leeway Art and Change Grant, and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grants.
Monnette Sudler is a jazz guitarist, composer, vocalist, and educator. Sudler loves music by classic jazz guitarists like Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, and Bolo Sete. She continues to be inspired by her family, colleagues, and the communities where she has either lived or been of some service. Monnette grew up listening to Nat King Cole and the Motown sounds.
Lise Esdaile is a professor in the English department at Lehman College.
