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Featured Speaker for Virtual Sunday Gathering: Natasha Ria El-Scari

May 3, 2020 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Featured speaker: Natasha Ria El-Scari
Community moment: Audra Alexander
Musical guest: Mark Lowrey (https://jukeboxxmedia.com/portfolio/mark-lowrey/)

Zoom link: https://success.zoom.us/j/3448335044

About the speaker:

Natasha Ria El-Scari has been a writer, Cave Canem fellow, and educator for over a decade. Her poetry, academic papers, and personal essays have been published in anthologies and literary and online journals. She has opened for and introduced many great writers, singers and activists, and has been featured at a host of universities and venues nationwide. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Natasha has a BA from Jackson State University and an MA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Natasha’s Black Feminist approach is reflected in her writing, poetry and performance pieces. Natasha brings the fire! She is a divorced mother of two awesome children. Once asked in an interview what makes her unique she replied, “…most people lie to themselves, but I like to reveal myself.”

In 2015 Natasha released her first book, Screaming Times (Spartan Press, 2015). Of her work, critic and poet Denise Low writes, “Poems lift off the page, almost reading themselves. Unlike some performance poetry, her words translate well to the printed page.” Her second book, The Only Other (Main Street Rag, 2016) dives into the taboo voice of the other woman. In 2019 Natasha released her first self-published and nonfiction book in collaboration with her son, titled, Mama Sutra: Love and Lovemaking Advice to My Son. In 2020, Natasha self-released I Say, T(He)y Say, a chapbook about a special decade in her maternal grandmother’s life. In the same month she released Growing Up Sina, her first novel created after challenging herself creatively to grow outside of her first love, poetry.

Natasha’s CDs, DragonButterFirefly (2006), This is Love… (2010), CuddleComplex (2016) and DVD Live at the Blue Room (2015) display how Natasha connects with any crowd with maternal warmth and unrelenting honesty. This mother of two is also the founder and curator of Black Space Black Art, an organization created to promote the exhibition of African American visual arts and businesses. She is also the founder and curator of the El-Scari Harvey Art Gallery, a small art gallery that focuses on exhibiting marginalized artists and creating relevant events. For details and booking: www.natasharia.com.

Details

Date:
May 3, 2020
Time:
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Website:
https://success.zoom.us/j/3448335044