Birmingham Public Library Hosting "A Year in Verse" Conversation with Birmingham Poet Laureate Salaam Green

 


On Tuesday, April 29, the Birmingham Public Library will host A Year in Verse: A Celebration of Salaam Green’s Inaugural Year as Birmingham’s Poet Laureate.  This free event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place in downtown Birmingham. 

The evening will consist of a conversation with Salaam about her latest book, The Other Revival, remarks by the City of Birmingham and Poet Laureate of the State of Alabama Ashley Jones. "A Year in Verse" will also include Q&A with the 2024 Birmingham Poet Fellows, and a special birthday celebration for Salaam—complete with cake! 

 This event is made possible by Create Birmingham, the Birmingham Public Library, and Magic City Poetry Festival.Salaam Green was announced by the city in December 2024 as the inaugural 2024-25 Birmingham Poet Laureate. She began her two-year term in January 2024.


As Birmingham's poet laureate, Salaam makes local appearances, facilitates public and educational programs, and building advocacy in the community through poetry. She received a $5,000 stipend.

In April 2024, the Central Library hosted a public reading by Salaam Green of her chapbook, "Once Upon a Magic City," in honor of National Poetry Month. Last summer, Green also launched a summer poet fellowship in partnership with BPL and Create Birmingham. 

 Green is founder and director of Literary Healing Arts, a “Road Scholar” for the Alabama Humanities Alliance and a certified trainer for the Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation initiative. 

In Birmingham, she has worked with a number of organizations including the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Magic City Poetry Festival, the monthlong celebration of poetry founded by Ashley M. Jones, Alabama’s first Black and youngest poet laureate.

By Roy L. Williams, P.R. Director|Birmingham Public Library

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