Name: Goin’ Up Yonder: Religion in Black Poetics
Start: 2025-05-31T11:30:00-0700
End: 2025-05-31T12:30:00-0700

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm PDT

St. Peter's Church - Large Room

For many in the Black American community, religion played a large role in our upbringing. Whether we maintain our beliefs into adulthood, embrace a new faith, or abandon religion altogether, we may reckon with or otherwise allude to how that cultural context informed our lives through poetry. Four writers will read poems that include imagery, diction, and other aspects of religion. Then they will discuss among themselves and with the audience how these influences appear in and drive their work.

Speakers

Matthew E. Henry

Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is the author of seven collections, most recently said the Frog to the scorpion (Harbor Editions, 2024). He’s editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal, the creative nonfiction editor at Porcupine Literary, and an associate editor at Rise Up Review. The winner... Read More →

Sarah Kersey

Sarah Kersey (she/they) is a poet and x-ray technologist living in Boston. Her debut chapbook Residence Time is published with Newfound. They have received support from Tin House Workshop. In 2021, they were a finalist for the PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship. Sarah's work has... Read More →

Porsha Olayiwola

porsha olayiwola is an individual world poetry slam champion and the author of the collection i shimmer sometimes, too. olayiwola served as the third poet laureate for the city of boston. she is a 2020 academy of american poets poet laureate fellow. olayiwola is the assistant professor... Read More →

Quinton Collins

Saturday May 31, 2025 11:30am - 12:30pm PDT
St. Peter's Church - Large Room 24 St Peter St Salem, MA 01970 USA

The 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival

Matthew E. Henry

Sarah Kersey

Porsha Olayiwola

Quinton Collins

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