The American Dream: Superheroes in Poetry at Cleveland Public Library - Main Branch

The American Dream: Superheroes in Poetry
Youth Poetry Reading: Works of Langston Hughes and Julia De Burgos

Experience the works of Langston Hughes and Julia De Burgos, performed by middle school students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and accompanied by live music, in collaboration with Cleveland Public Library’s writer-in-residence and host Dr. Raquel M. Ortiz. Dr. Ortiz is an anthropologist, educator, activist, songwriter, and author of several bilingual children’s books including Sofi and the Magic, Musical Mural (2015), Sofi Paints her Dreams (2019), When Julia Danced Bomba (2019). Her stories about Afro-Caribbean and Latinx culture invite children and adults to join in on adventures, featuring children as the protagonists so that they see and celebrate their creativity and valor.
 

Join Cleveland Reads and help the city get to 1 million. The Mayor’s Office of Cleveland, Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland Metropolitan Schools, and dozens of other organizations have joined forces to encourage children and adults to take the Cleveland Reads Citywide Reading Challenge to collectively read 1 million books in 2023.

As part of Cleveland Reads, The Cleveland Orchestra’s 2023 Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival: The American Dream is partnering with Cleveland Public Library to encourage everyone to read The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson who also wrote the bestseller, Caste. The book counts towards the Cleveland Reads challenge. For more information or to join the Cleveland Reads Challenge, visit clevelandreads.com. Isabel Wilkerson will be The American Dream festival’s keynote speaker on May 13 at Severance Music Center’s Mandel Concert Hall.