Napalm will conduct two free poetry seminars in Lawnside in February and April as part of the Lawnside Historical Society's observance of Black History Month and Jessie Redmon Fauset celebration.
The Saturday sessions will be held at 2 p.m. in the Lawnside Public School library, 426 E. Charleston Ave., Lawnside.
Lamont Dixon who performs as Napalm is a sought-after spoken word artist and teacher. He has instructed programs in the Philadelphia, Camden and Willingboro school systems, won numerous poetry competitions and performed on air for Poetry Out Loud.
Aspiring poets and experienced writers from ninth grade and older are invited to attend "Rhythms & Rhymes: A Spoken Word Workshop" on Feb. 28 and "From the Page to the Stage: A Performance Poetry Symposium" on April 11. Those who would like to attend are asked to reserve a spot by sending email to lhs@petermotthouse.org or calling 856-546-8850.
During the free program participants will write and critique original poems based on a variety of styles including free verse and haiku. Writers will also create and stage individual and group poems for dramatic presentation.
Napalm said, "Poetry reminds us that language is holistic - that how something is said is part of what is being said, with the literal meaning of words is only part of their whole meaning, which is also carried by tone of voice, inflection and rhythm."
Jessie Redmon Fauset was a Harlem Renaissance novelist, poet and literary editor for the NAACP's Crisis magazine. Miss Fauset was born in Lawnside in 1882 when her farher was pastor of Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church. The Society will honor her with a poetry-writing competition and lecture on April 25.
Jessie Redmon Fauset Day, The Spirit of the Renaissance Poetry Competition and the poetry workshops are funded by a grant from the Camden County Cultural & Heritage Commission through the local regrant program of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Lawnside Historical Society is a qualified organization of the New Jersey Cultural Trust.
