During the month of January, Central Iowa Youth were invited to attend three FREE poetry workshops held at the Ames Public Library. Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey taught the workshops, which built upon each other to prepare the young poets for a poetry contest. 15 youth attended the workshops and 12 submitted to a “blind read” contest. Ages ranged from 10 to 16 years old. Four poems were chosen and have been submitted to Dr. Ron McCurdy, the composer of the “Langston Hughes Project” for scoring. Rainey will perform the poems accompanied by Dr. McCurdy’s music to kick off the Stephens Auditorium performance on February 8th at 7 PM.
“It was truly amazing watching the youth poets interact with Rainey,” said Ana McCracken, founder of the Ames Writers Collective. “In a short time, he inspired the writers to write about topics and life circumstances that touched the core of their beings. The caliber of poems the poets wrote was beyond their years. I am so grateful to Tammy Koolbeck and Stephens Auditorium for offering this opportunity to the Ames Writers Collective, and to the grantors who funded this project and made it possible for youth writers to attend free of charge.”
“The quality of the poetry was quite high, especially given the limited time the poets must have had to work on them…all the poets showed promise. Thank you for organizing what must have been such an amazing experience for all those involved. It was also a wonderful experience for the judges,” said Marc Drexler. Maggie Westvold and Marc Drexler from the Third Stanza poets judged the youth poetry.
For more information about Ron McCurdy’s Langston Hughes Project A Multimedia Concert Performance of Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods of Jazz, Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 7 PM, Stephens Auditorium, Ames, IA, click here.
THE AMES WRITERS COLLECTIVE
thanks the following organizations for their support:
ARTIST BIOS
Dr. Ron McCurdy, is a Professor of Music in the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he served as chair of the jazz department for 6 years. Dr. McCurdy is a consultant to the Grammy Foundation educational programs including serving as director of the National Grammy Vocal Jazz Ensemble. Guest artists he has worked with include Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Leslie Uggams, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Ramsey Lewis, Mercer Ellington, Dr. Billy Taylor, Maynard Ferguson, Lionel Hampton, and Dianne Reeves.
Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey is an author, performer, and producer. He hails from Columbia, Missouri, and holds a B.A. in English (Creative Writing) from the University of Iowa. His debut book, Look, Black Boy, became Amazon’s #1 new release in African American poetry, and was awarded first prize in the North Street Book Prize. His second book, Heart Notes was published in 2019 and featured on Iowa Public Radio. He released two spoken word albums, a studio version of Look, Black Boy, and a performance album titled, Heart Notes Live! He co-founded the literary magazine Black Art; Real Stories, was published in Iowa’s Best Emerging Poets – 2019, the Little Village Magazine, and wrote a monthly column for The Real Mainstream. For three years in a row he was named Best Poet/Spoken Word Performer in Cedar Rapids & Iowa City.
