Cherrie Amour to Perform HERMOSO NEGRO a Part of Allen Ginsberg Poetry Reading and Awards Ceremony, 2/1

Trinidadian-born spoken word artist Cherrie Amour presents her award-winning poem "Hermoso Negro" as part of the 2013 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Reading and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, February 1st, at the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey. This free program will take place at 1:00 PM in the histoRic Hamilton Club Building, 32 Church Street on the (corner of Ellison) downtown Paterson. For further information, call (973) 684-6555.

Cherrie's poem, which received an honorable mention in the Center's competition, will be published in the Fall 2014 issue of The Paterson Literary Review. She along with several established and emerging poets will participate in the annual event which honors the literary contributions of Ginsberg - the legendary Paterson, NJ-reared Beat poet and writer who passed away in 1997.

"As an emerging poet, participating in the Allen Ginsberg Award Program is a huge honor for me," says Amour. "Ginsberg exemplified an artist who challenged the status quo, wrote about his spiritual quest for the truth of everyday existence and radicalized traditional ways of writing poetry. Being a part of this event inspires, motivates and encourages me to keep writing in my own voice," she added.

Amour explains that her poem "Hermosa Negro," (Handsome Black Man) is a remembrance of her father and is also included in her debut poetry collection "Free To Be Me Poems on Life, Love and Relationships." The book poetically explores Cherrie's geographical and emotional journey from childhood to adulthood and from the Caribbean to Canada and from Detroit, MI to her current hometown of Baltimore, MD. Cherrie's candid, narrative style and soulful poetic verse about life and love has also been recorded on two CD projects "ilovemesomewords" and "Love's Journey".

The Poetry Center was named a Distinguished Arts Project and awarded several Citations of Excellence, and is funded, in part, by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency
of the National Endowment for the Arts, and by funds

from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information and directions, go to: www.pccc.edu/poetry
"Free to Be Me" is available in print and e-book formats on Amazon.com.

To learn more about Cherrie Amour and "Free To Be Me" visit: www.cherrieamour.com.