February is Black History Month, an opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the legacy of Black Canadians. Together with the Limestone District School Board Kingston Frontenac Public Library is honouring the past, present, and futures of Kingston’s Black communities with poetry and prose.
“We really want to provide a platform for Black creators at a time when in-person events make celebrations a challenge,” explained Jake Miller, Programming and Outreach Librarian. “There’s too much of the Black experience that hasn’t been shared, so much that hasn’t made it to screen or paper. KFPL and LDSB want to provide an opportunity to make that possible.”
KFPL is accepting community submissions of poetry and flash fiction incorporating diverse Black perspectives. In partnership with the LDSB, this project aims to promote the diverse creative energies of Kingston by showcasing submissions on the KFPL website and will culminate with a live online event. On February 28, creators can read their works to the community with Celebrating Black Creators: Readings of Poetry and Prose.
What is flash fiction (aka micro-fiction or postcard fiction)? Flash fiction is defined as a story under 1500 words. These small creations provide the writer an opportunity to write compact, sharply articulated works that are easily consumed by the reader. The focus of the work for this program is Black identity in fiction and reality.
Spoken word poet and LDSB alumnus Britta Badour, better known as Britta B, is hosting What is Black Life (Future, Past, and Present) writer’s workshops on February 22 and 23.