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Reg E. Gaines and Delores Fisher San Diego Public Library Constitution Reading The American Constitution was officially ratified two hundred and twenty five years ago on September 17, 1787 with thirty nine delegates in attendance.1 This week on September 17th the San Diego Central Library had a performance reading of the Constitution in the Waggenheim Room featuring Reg E. Gaines and myself as readers with Dr. Pat Washington (UCSD) and Dr. Isidro Ortiz (SDSU)providing scholarly commentary and insights. A small audience, engaged and informed, attended. Some read along with texts provided by the library. Reg E. Gaines, spoken word artist,recording artist, and director--well known for his groundbreaking Tony nomination work in "Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk" on Broadway in the 90s--was an inspiration to read with http://broadwayworld.com/people/headshot/Reg-E.-Gaines/#sthash.oj6fdl4F.dpbs   A supporter of literacy, he  took time out of his busy schedule to particip...

Delores Fisher remembering:a gathering of poets at Claire de Lune Coffee Shop That fateful September 11, 2001,  world viewers watched their televisions,  numbed by disbelief. Others listened to radio broadcasts in anguish, or frantically logged onto nascent social media sites that now supply us with almost instantaneous information as long as the signal holds. It happened on American soil and claimed the lives of people from all over the globe. At the time, in 2001,  I was a more active member of the San Diego poetry community-- teaching less, performing and writing more. Poetry was happening nationally. Performance poetry was "sic." Slamming was off the hook. With the rise in word-craft, serious voices started to emerge. It was what one said, not how one said it that began to capture our attention. Many of us were becoming conscious , reading previous generations' socially engaged poetry, dialoging in community as opposed to competition, reflecting on our impact as ...

Those of you following me on Twitter and at The Center For World Music: https://centerforworldmusic.org/about-us/board/ know that I was a pianist at Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego California back in the day. Charles Ray was the organist/pianist, professor Jean Wesson was the music director. I also played accompanied the Calvary Baptist Church Youth Choir under the direction of Carol Durgan.  The church was known as Second Baptist in 1889 on the corner of  1st and B street. It was moved to  the corner of  then Crosby Street, https://www.calvarybcsd.org/history/   now known as 719 Cesar E. Chavez Pkwy. and at this time is following the leadership of pastor Dr. Emanuel Whipple Sr. And this Sunday in September 2012 Calvary Baptist Church had a Youth Choir Reunion Concert at 3:30. The concert was a musical extravaganza! This post is going viral so I must do a 2024 update: Hello Dr. Buchanon. Thank you for reading my post from 2012. I am honored!!!! For addition...