The history of Poets in Black: Celebrating 25 years

Campus News | Monday, February 27, 2023

Above left, Barbara Fant was the keynote reader for the 25th annual Poets in Black event on Feb. 23. Fant spoke from the Delaware Campus. Above right, Allen Coleman, Humanities adjunct professor, stands to the left as three students in his class (African-American History before 1877) read a selection around a podium in Mitchell Hall. The students are, left to right, Kassey M. Freeman, Martina L. Fair, and Mikayla D. Holland. Standing on the right is Coleman’s colleague, Matt Swift, from Ohio State University.

Crystal Clark, assistant dean of the Delaware Campus and former English Department professor, has been the energy behind the ongoing success of the annual Poets in Black at Columbus State. She says the event was conceived in 1998 before coming to fruition for the first time in February 1999. 

Clark sensed an unaddressed need, illustrating where art and the Black experience collide. For more than a decade, she taught summer programming at Kenyon College. During the writing institutes, the village of Gambier enjoyed the poetry and prose of the institute attendees. “Those Friday night events influenced my creative writing instruction at Columbus State and my contributions to the committee, and thus, Poets in Black was born, said Clark.”  

Over the years, the introduction of technology has changed the event's trajectory. This year, having expanded our physical boundaries from a single setting, the event was held on Feb. 23 and included synchronous participation from both campuses and three high schools. Clark said, “We have, for the very first time, a featured poet to accompany us. Our voices—the voices of Columbus State staff, students, administration, and faculty—have served as the substance and sustenance of Poets in Black. Now we have an opportunity to include others in our chorus. This is an exciting time.”  

 

 

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