Vocal Expressions

Poet’s Bio: Jahi Minkah Trotter was born in Atlanta, GA, and moved to Alabama when he was six years old. He has been writing poetry since he was 11 years old. He has written two poetry books: It Was Already Written (2016) and Adapting To Life: Poems and Quotes by Jahi Minkah Trotter (2020). He developed a love for filmmaking while receiving his bachelor's degree in social science. Jahi decided to continue his quest for filmmaking at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, GA.   During his final two years at SCAD, Jahi was encouraged by his professors to go into acting while continuing to work behind the camera as well. This was a crucial time for Jahi. He lost his father in 2019 a month before taking an elective acting class that lead him into acting. He lost his mother in 2021 and continues to act and create films, including his thesis film "The Last Job," in which he acted and starred in. Jahi graduated with a master's degree in film and television from S

Poet’s Bio: Margaret Beaver is an eighteen-year-old college freshman, mental health and LGBTQIA+ equality activist, and award-winning poet and novelist. She has been honored as a two-time consecutive Topical Winner of Live Poets Society of New Jersey publications, a recipient of the Readers’ Favorite Five-Star cover seal, and decorated with the Donna Lynn Quille Award for Best Advocacy Prose. Margaret is the founder of Margaret Beaver Books, a grassroots organization aspiring to aid the accessibility of treatment, education, and the arts. She writes nonfiction poetry collections and novels spanning all subgenres of fiction detailing the integral topics of inclusivity and prejudice, abusive authority, estranged parents and children, the detriments of mental illness, and the triumph of family. She is the author of INKWELLS. (Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard Press, 2022); FLOWERS FOR PAPA (Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard Press, 2024); and SEASONS: AUGUST’S COLLECTION (Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard

This is the first time I’m reading anything by Tony Dunbar and it won’t be the last. Although this is the sixth book in the Tubby Dubonnet series, I am already loving Tubby. So, let’s meet him. Tubby is a lawyer who has given up booze, looking for his pay day from prior clients, and is now embroiled in a doozy of a case while on the brink of a potential love interest.  The doozy of a case involves Judge Al Hughes who calls Tubby because he is caught in a bind with District Attorney Marcus Dementhe who confronts him with dates, times, and places of having sex with a young lady (Sultana Patel). Judge Hughes is worried about his wife finding out as well as appearing before a special grand jury the DA is convening to nail corrupt judges. However, if the judge cooperated in getting dirt on his colleagues, the DA might work out a deal with him.  When Tubby connects with Sultana to find out what she told the DA, he learns that she was paid to come on to the judge at a party. Her story is

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, novelist, poet, short story writer, and artist, Sandra Cisneros. She is a pivotal figure in Chicano literature and her work explores the formation of Chicano identity, the challenges of being caught between two cultures (Mexican and Anglo-American) and experiencing poverty. Her first novel, The House on Mango Street (1983) is a coming-of-age novel that has been translated worldwide and is taught in U.S. classrooms. She is also known for her short story collection, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991).   She has garnered multiple awards, notably receiving fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1981 and 1988), an American Book Award (1985), and a MacArthur fellowship (1995). In 2017, she was awarded one of 25 new Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowships. She has a strong sense of commitment to community and literary causes having established the Macondo Writers Workship

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, poet, writer, and educator, Lucille Clifton. Born Thelma Lucille Sayles, in Depew, New York, she moved with her husband James Clifton and family to Baltimore, Maryland in 1967. In 1969, she published her first poetry collection, Good Times , that was listed by The New York Times as one of the year’s ten best books. Her collection of poems dealt with social, racial and political issues as well as her identity as a woman and as a poet. From 1971 to 1974, she was poet-in-residence at Coppin State University and from 1979 to 1985, she was Poet Laureate for the state of Maryland.  She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist for poetry (twice).  Some of her notable works include Good News About the Earth: New Poems (1972), An Ordinary Woman (1974), Two-Headed Woman (1980) that won the Juniper Prize, her children’s book - Everett Anderson’s Good-bye that won the 1984 Coretta Scott King Award , and The Bo