The Studio @ 620 Presents The Poet Toi Derricotte

The Studio@620 presents award winning poet, Toi Derricotte, for one night only on Monday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. Admission is free with donations accepted to help the Studio@620.

Derricotte will be reciting works from her new book, "The Undertaker's Daughter," as well as her more well-known essays, including "Beginning Dialogues," which was included in The Best American Essays. After the event, she will be on hand to sign her works and will have books available for sale.

Of Derricote’s poems, famous ’60s radical poet Audre Lourde wrote, "Because the power of her images breeds visions which are neither easy nor inescapable, Toi Derricotte moves us...The pain does not exceed the power."

Although frequently autobiographical, Derricote treats the universal subjects of racism and identity in ways that are moving, painful and illuminating. Her style is credited with an evocative simplicity reminiscent of Emily Dickinson, though it also contains the kind of expansive colloquial expression attributed to Walt Whitman. Derricotte is also known for treating sexual topics with a candor that sometimes shocks, and also for sketching in the grey shadows that surround difficult and painful realities.

The Studio@620 is a non profit arts venue located at 620 1st Ave. South, St. Petersburg FL 33701. Visit The Studio@620 online at studio620.org or call 727-895-6620 to purchase tickets.