The Arts Academy of Sedona & The Verde Valley School to Celebrate Black History Month

The Arts Academy of Sedona in collaboration with The Verde Valley School is kicking off the celebration of America's Black History Month with a reading of the work of The acclaimed poets Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Both Hurston and Hughes are considered to be pre-eminent writers of twentieth-century African American literature. Both were defining figures during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and their words still profoundly echo today. This free celebration of their writings takes place on Wednesday, January 29, at 2 pm at the Verde Valley School.

Zora Neale Hurston wrote groundbreaking works about the culture and folk traditions of southern African Americans. A novelist, essayist, journalist, and playwright she is best known for her seminal novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Her work explores universal themes and holds wry observations such as "No matter how far a person can go the horizon is still way beyond you" and speaks to the power of love with throughs such as "Love makes your souls crawl out from its hiding place.

A major poet, Langston Hughes also wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays. He sought to honestly portray the joys and hardships of working-class black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative stereotypes. One of his most known poems asks us the universal question "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?"

There will be readings from community members including Sunday Larson, Joan Westmoreland, Jacquie Foschia, Kaycee Palumbo, Melinda McElroy and Micheel Steele, Che' Leon, and Camilla Ross, as well as from students at the Verde Valley School. Singer Margo Braman will perform, and refreshments will be served.

Please join the Arts Academy of Sedona and the Verde Valley Schools for this in a reading of their extraordinary works. This free celebration of these preeminent American Voices and Black History Month takes place on Wednesday, January 29, at 2 pm at the Verde Valley School which is located at 511 Verde Valley School Road. For more information, please call the Arts Academy of Sedona at (860) 705-9711 or go to www.artsacademyofsedona.org.