Virtual Write Now: Charlie Braxton

Join us for an evening of topical discussion and creative writing—all from the comfort of home!

Led by poet, playwright, and cultural critic Charlie Braxton, in this free workshop we’ll dive into a guided exercise designed to help you hone your craft and expand your writer’s toolbox. Inspired by the topical and nontraditional poems in Braxton’s latest book Embers Among the Ashes: Poems in a Haiku Manner, you’ll create your own culturally responsive haiku and learn to capture your experiences in verse.

Beginner-friendly, this workshop is open to writers of all experience levels—all you need is something to write with and a love of language and art!

Free, tickets required. Reserve your spot online or with Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today. Once registered, you’ll receive an email with information about the event and the Zoom link for your convenience.

Charlie R. Braxton is a noted poet, playwright, and cultural critic from Mississippi. He is also one of the leading hip-hop journalists of the 1990s. His feature articles, essays, and reviews on various aspects of hip hop culture have appeared in top publications such as Beatdown, 4080, Blaze,  The Source, Rap Pages, One World, Rime Magazine, Code of the Street (UK), The Pound (Canada), Bbarrak Magazine (Czech Republic), One More Robot (Ireland) Rap Sheet, Vibe, XXL, Scratch and Murderdog Magazine. Charlie Braxton is the author of three volumes of verse, Ascension from the Ashes (Blackwood Press 1991), Cinder’s Rekindled (Jawara Press 2013), and Embers Among the Ashes: Poems in a Haiku Manner (Jawara 2018). His poetry has been published in various anthologies, including: Trouble the Water, edited by Jerry Ward; In the Tradition, edited by Ras Baraka and Kevin Powell; Step Into a World, edited by Kevin Powell; Roll Call, edited by Tony Medina; Soulfires, edited by Rohan Preston and Daniel Widerman; Fertile Ground, edited by Kysha N. Brown and Kalamu ya Salaam; and Bum Rush the Page: The Def Jam Poetry Anthology, edited by Tony Medina and Louis Reyes.

In addition, his poems have appeared in numerous literary publications such as African American Review, Cutbanks, Drumvoices Review, Black Magnolias, The Minnesota Review, The San Fernando Poetry Journal, The Black Nation, Massiffe, Candle, Transnational Literary Magazine, Eyeball, Sepia Poetry Review, Specter Magazine, and The San Fernando Poetry Journal.  His first play, Artist Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was mounted by The Acting Company of Tougaloo in 1984. His second play, Bluesman has been anthologized in the book, Mississippi Writers: Reflections on Childhood and Youth Volume IV, edited by Dorothy Abbott, University Press of Mississippi (July 1, 1991).