Art is the memory of the crossing and collaboration of cultures. It is through the art of Mexico, in the paintings, music and poetry, that the legacy of Africa can be seen, heard and documented. Poet Xánath Caraza, a nationally and internationally renowned Mexican poet who was the recipient of the 2015 International Book Award for Poetry, the recipient of the 2014 Beca Nebrija para Creadores, Universidad del Alcala de Henares in Spain and one of the 2013 Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch, comes to Nashville to share her Mexican poetry rooted in African ancestry and influence with “The Third Root of Mexico: The Legacy of Africa in Mexico” a free community reading, as part of Global Education Center’s Line Breaks Literary Reading Series on Friday, October 6 at 7 pm. The reading will be followed by a writing workshop, Third Root of Mexico, on Saturday, October 7 at 10 am – Noon.
This event will include readings from Xánath Caraza’s Conjuro, a tri-lingual text in Spanish, English and Nahuatl (language of the Aztecs), derived from Caraza’s connection to her indigenous and Mexican heritage that speaks to the web of interactions that are present in all of our cultures, especially our continuously diversifying New Nashville. The reading will be followed by a Q & A discussion moderated by Dr. Avery Dickens de Giron of Vanderbilt University, which will be a community discussion and call for the diverse heritages of Nashville to come together for an exploration of dialogue and artistic expression and to dig deeper into African influence on Mexico, as the Third Root of Mexico.
The Third Root of Mexico Programming is presented by the Line Breaks Literary Reading Series, a program hosted and created by community artist, Thandiwe, Shiphrah, that offers a broad rand of readings, performances, workshops and presentations featuring some of the nation’s most compelling literary voices.
The Third Root of Mexico Poetry Reading with Xánath Caraza will take place at Global Education Center on 4822 Charlotte Avenue and is free and open to the public. The event will be followed by a writing workshop with Xánath Caraza on Saturday, October 7 at 10 am. This event is $20 for students, seniors and members and $35 for non members. More information about this event and the Line Breaks Literary Reading Series can be found on the Global Education Center website at globaleducationcenter.org.
This program is funded in part by grants from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and South Arts, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Tennessee Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, and Metro Nashville Arts Commission.
