Adebe DeRango-Adem: Vox Humana

In and through literary experiments with word and sound, utterance and song, Vox Humana considers the different ways a body can assert, recount, and proclaim. Born from the polyphonic phenomenon of the author’s multilingual upbringing, these poems are autobiographical and alchemical, singular and plural, but, above all, a celebration of the (breath) work required for transformation of society and self.

“This is poetry that scans like lightning across a slate-blue sky, slashing the page with its power. Through its measurements of Blackness, miscegenation, migration, identity, the body, and the body politic, Vox Humana is the voice you have been waiting to hear. An incendiary cri de coeur for our times.” —Wayde Compton, author of The Outer Harbour

Adebe DeRango-Adem is the author of three previous full-length poetry books to date: Ex Nihilo, a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize; Terra Incognita, nominated for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award; and The Unmooring. She served as the 2019-20 Barbara Smith Writer-in-Residence with Twelve Literary Arts (Cleveland, Ohio), and was selected by Sonia Sanchez as the winner of the 2021 Boston Review Annual Poetry Contest. She lives in Toronto.

Adebe DeRango-Adem will be in conversation with Michael Fraser

Michael Fraser has published three books of poems, most recently, The Day-Breakers, a fictional retelling of Black soldiers’ experiences during the American Civil War. A Toronto-based poet, he is the recipient of numerous awards, including  the 2016 CBC Poetry Prize, Freefall Magazine’s 2014 and 2015 poetry contests. His work appears in Best Canadian Poetry in English 2013 and 2018.

Buy your books at  Ampersand and join the conversation!

Choose the ticket price that’s right for you: Free, $5, $10, $15 or $20.

This virtual event is streamed via Zoom.

Choose the ticket price that’s right for you: Free, $5, $10, $15 or $20