New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 391,006 in 2018, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or composed for performance rather than print distribution, mostly open to improvisation.
Clarence Ray Nagin Jr., also known as C. Ray Nagin, is an American former politician and convicted felon who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 merger of The Times-Picayune and the New Orleans edition of The Advocate, which began publication in 2013 as a response to The Times-Picayune switching from a daily publication schedule to a Wednesday/Friday/Sunday schedule in October 2012.
Sidney John Barthelemy is a former American political figure. The second African American to hold the New Orleans Mayoral chair, he was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1974 to 1978 and a member at-large of the New Orleans City Council from 1978 to 1986. He served as mayor of New Orleans from 1986 to 1994. He is a member of the DemocraticParty.
Terence Oliver Blanchard is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and music educator. Blanchard started his career in 1980 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed on more than fifty. He received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Score on Spike Lee's 2018 film BlacKkKlansman.
The people and culture of New Orleans have made New Orleans, Louisiana, unique among and distinct from other cities in the United States, including other Southern U.S. cities. New Orleans in modern times has been described as being not a Southern city but a Caribbean city.
Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson is a former Louisiana State Representative (1994–2002) and is a long-serving New Orleans Councilwoman. She has been Honorary consul of Lithuania in New Orleans since December 2014. She is the mother of actress Patricia Clarkson.
The origin of the word jazz is one of the most sought-after word origins in modern American English. The word's intrinsic interest – the American Dialect Society named it the Word of the Twentieth Century – has resulted in considerable research and its history is well documented. "Jazz" began as a West Coast slang term around 1912. The meaning varied but it did not initially refer to music. Jazz came to mean jazz music in Chicago around 1915.
Dumpstaphunk is a funk and jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
The Robert E. Lee Monument formerly in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a historic statue dedicated to Confederate General Robert E. Lee by noted American sculptor Alexander Doyle. It was removed (intact) by official order and moved to an unknown location on May 19, 2017. Any future display is uncertain. The monument was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was included by New Orleans magazine in June 2011 as one of the city's "11 important statues".
Regie Cabico is a Filipino American poet and spoken word artist. He has been featured on two seasons of Def Poetry Jam on HBO and has been called the Lady Gaga of spoken word. He is an "out and proud" gay man.
Lee Circle is a central traffic circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, which featured a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee between 1884 and 2017. The monument was a bronze statue by Alexander Doyle, a prominent American sculptor known for statues of Civil War figures. Lee Circle is located at the intersection of St. Charles and Howard Avenues. Prior to the erection of the monument, the location was known as Tivoli Circle or Place du Tivoli. Tivoli Circle was an important, central point in the city, as it linked upriver areas with downriver areas. It was a common local meeting point and the site remains a popular place to gather for Mardi Gras parades.
Universes is a New York-based American ensemble company of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse poetry, theater, jazz, hip hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros to create what has been described as moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. The group, with four core members, breaks traditional theatrical bounds to create its own brand of theater.
Steven Sapp co-founded The POINT Community Development Corporation in 1993 and Universes in 1995, both in collaboration with Mildred Ruiz-Sapp.
William Ruiz is a playwright, poet, and actor from the Bronx. Born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, William is a core member of Universes.
Gamal Abdel Chasten was born and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Gamal is a core member of Universes, a poetic theatre ensemble.
Larry McKinley was a New Orleans-based music promoter, record label co-owner, radio personality and festival icon. He was most well known as the "Voice of Jazzfest", co-founder of Minit Records, and the host of several shows on the New Orleans radio stations WNNR-AM and WMRY-FM.
Fatima Shaik is an American writer of children’s and adult literature, and former daily journalist. Her literature explores the human spirit and the intersection of cultures, notably themes of family, community, and justice. Publishers Weekly described her as “knowledgeable and perceptive.” Her work across genres reflects her career as a journalist and fiction writer to use a variety of literary forms in order to explore contemporary social issues, especially that of the "African-American experience."
