Aaron Samuels / Broken Ghazal (Los Angeles)
Broken Ghazal (2013) by artist Aaron Samuels
Aaron Samuels, raised in Providence, Rhode Island by a Jewish mother and a Black father, is a Cave Canem Fellow and a nationally acclaimed performer. In his ground-breaking collection of poems, Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps, Samuels examines the beauty and contradictions of his own mixed identity with gut-wrenching narratives, humor, and passionate verve.
This spoken-word, call and response poem was performed at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Produced by Dylan Garity and Sam Cook, for Button Poetry 2014. ⓒ Button Poetry. Excerpt shared with permission of the artist.
BIO: Aaron Samuels is Co-Founder of Blavity Inc., a digital community for Black Millennials that reaches over 100 million people per month across five digital properties including Blavity News, AfroTech, Travel Noire, Shadow And Act, and 21Ninety. After working at Bain & Co. as a strategy consultant,
AARON LEFT HIS CORPORATE LIFE TO PURSUE HIS PASSION AS A WRITER AND BUILDER OF COMMUNITY.
He has since written a book of poetry, toured the country, performed on television, and landed himself on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list as a rising star in the tech and media space. When he is not at Blavity, Aaron is a nationally touring poet and speaker. Samuels has been a Cave Canem Fellow and a nationally acclaimed performer.
His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, featured on TV One’s Verses & Flow, and has appeared in many journals including Tidal Basin Review and Muzzle Magazine. His debut collection of poetry, Yarmulkes & Fitted Caps was released on Write Bloody Publishing in Fall 2013.
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