'Totally kinetic and disarmingly wise'

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY

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Poet brings her craft - and professional tips - to LSSU

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Detroit’s Jessica Care Moore, an internationally renowned poet and spoken-word performance artist who has been called “totally kinetic and disarmingly wise,” has completed a whirlwind visit to Lake Superior State University April 4-5.

She spoke during a Monday evening reading and reception, and presented an informal master class with students on Tuesday morning that focused on her creative process.

Both events - part of the LSSU Visiting Writer Series - were open to the public.

Moore’s visit was organized and sponsored by the LSSU Department of English to bring highly-acclaimed authors and poets to campus for a shared literary experience with the community and to raise awareness of LSSU’s creative writing program.

Attendees had the opportunity to experience Moore reading her work, answering questions about her writing process, and signing copies of her books, which are available for purchase by the LSSU campus bookstore.

Moore has written several poetry collections, including: The Words Don’t Fit in My Mouth, The Alphabet Verses the Ghetto, God is Not an American, and Sunlight through Bullet Holes, and her poetry has been published in many literary collections.

She is the youngest poet published in the Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Women’s Literature.

Moore is also a publisher, activist, rock musician, playwright, and actor.

She is a five-time Showtime at the Apollo winner; was featured on hip-hop mega-star, Nas' Nastradamus album, and was a returning star of the HBO Series, Def Poetry Jam.

She is one of the stars of the documentary, Slamnation! and one of the featured artists in the PBS special I'll Make Me a World.

Moore is the CEO of Moore Black Press, executive producer of Black Women Rock! and founder of the literacy-driven, Jess Care Moore Foundation.

She has participated in the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta and the Langston Hughes National Poetry Circle Project.

She is the 2013 Alain Locke Award recipient from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

LSSU offers both an undergraduate major and minor concentration in creative writing.

The program encourages innovation and experimentation as students develop their voices.

Students complete coursework in prose, poetry, and performance writing, and are given opportunities to get publishing experience before graduation.

Her visit was funded in part through a grant from the LSSU Issues and Intellect Fund.

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