Herman Beavers, Professor of English and Africana Studies
Humor is Path to the Human: African American Poetry's Activism of Laughter

In this café, Herman Beavers reads from his latest poetry chapbook, The Vernell Poems, and talks about the African American poetic tradition of using humor and satire to engage in social commentary. Beavers traces his efforts back to poets Langston Hughes, Sterling A. Brown, Lucille Clifton, and Ishmael Reed, while situating himself among more recent poets like Terrance Hayes, Morgan Parker, and Wanda Coleman.