Smart Museum of Art | Smart Reads: Bearden’s Odyssey

In this edition of Smart Reads, we explore intersections of art and poetry through the exhibition Bob Thompson: This House Is Mine and the book Bearden’s Odyssey: Poets Respond to the Art of Romare Bearden.

We invite you to read along with us and engage in two thought-provoking conversations with host Dorian H. Nash.

FREE. To help build a community of participants, capacity is limited and advanced registration is required.

SCHEDULE
Part I
Wednesday, March 2, 6 pm
Please register for Zoom invitation

Part II
Wednesday, March 9, 6 pm
Please register for Zoom invitation

ABOUT THE BOOK
Bearden’s Odyssey: Poets Respond to the Art of Romare Bearden, edited by Kwame Dawes and Matthew Shenoda

Borrowing from Romare Bearden’s aesthetic palette and inspired by his Odysseus series, Bearden’s Odyssey gathers, for the first time, poems from thirty-five of the most revered African diaspora poets in the United States. Poetic echoes come forth in themes of inspiration with historical intersections of one of the greatest visual artists of the twentieth century.

The award-winning editors, Kwame Dawes and Matthew Shenoda, assemble an esteemed literary congregation, with original poems by Chris Abani, Rita Dove, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Ed Roberson, Aracelis Girmay, Yusef Komunyakaa, and more. With a powerful foreword by Nobel laureate Derek Walcott and stunning visual reproductions of select Bearden masterpieces, this anthology fuses art and literature, standing as a testament to Romare Bearden’s power and influence in the contemporary artistic world.

If needed, the Smart Museum can pick up the cost of the book for participants in this reading group. Instructions will be provided with your registration confirmation.