Sycamore Library Presents a Virtual Event: Latin Hip Hop as New Poetry

Celebrate National Poetry Month by joining Dr. Catalina Maria Johnson for her lecture on Latin Hip Hop as a New Poetry!

Latin hip hop artists are advancing the poetic traditions of their countries in unique ways. Ana Tijoux from Chile was raised on protest songs and Pablo Neruda; Residente from Calle 13, Puerto Rico spits out rhymes as carefully crafted as any poet’s; Niña Dioz from Mexico reads dictionaries to find the precise words to fit her ideas and rhymes; Xiutehzcatl from Boulder, Colorado rhymes in three languages: Spanish, English and Nahuatl–an ancient indigenous language. Nevertheless, academia and poetic circles have surprisingly not embraced and celebrated these artists as poets.

This program, with video and lyric examples will make a case for hip hop as the new poetry with a focus on Latinos in the U.S., the Americas. The presentation, paired with slides and a rich set of musical videos, is lively, light and fun, and focused on participation, discussion, and musical enjoyment!

This event is being produced by Sycamore Library in partnership with Illinois Humanities. The Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau invites Illinois authors, artists, & educators to share their expertise & enthusiasm with people throughout the state, enabling local nonprofit organizations to present free-admission cultural programs of high quality to their communities for a modest fee.

Click here to register.

For more information, please contact samanthas@sycamorelibrary.org or (815) 895-2500.