Join the Office of Inclusion, Belonging, and Social Equity, as the university continues to celebrate Black History Month with Maria James-Thiaw ’96 on February 22 at noon in CUB MPR A. Maria will read poetry from her most recent publication, “Count Each Breathe.” Refreshments and snacks will be served. Participants can also leave with a free copy of her book, courtesy of Jessie Ball Dupont grant funds.
James-Thiaw is an author of four poetry collections and has been published in numerous journals and anthologies including “Black Lives Have Always Mattered,” “Cutthroat Journal of the Arts,” and “Essential Voices: A COVID 19 Anthology.” Poems from her play, “Reclaiming My Time: An American Griot Project,” won the Art of Protest Award from Penn State University’s Center for American Literary Studies in 2018. She is a “recovering educator” and the founder of Reclaim Artist Collective, an organization that brings her American Griot Project programming to marginalized communities.