May Watershed Reading

On May 15, 2021 at 7pm, with the Watershed Reading Series, we are bringing you the illustrious work of Charles Payne, Khalisa Rae, and Taylor Koekkoek. From work that confronts the heart-wrenching realities Black women face each day to work that explores the personal narrative and social commentary from the lived experience of a working poor, cisgender Black male dying to live and living to die, the works from each of these are artists explore personal journeys that are both spiritual and racial urgent. And it is as our fiction reader Taylor Koekkoek best put it: “When I’m reading, and when I’m writing, I think most of all I hope to be transported somewhere new. I’m hoping to be lifted out of my shoes. I want to look up from the page feeling like a sleepwalker who’s woken up in the neighbor’s yard, asking myself, how did I get here?” Each of their works will take their readers and listening on a remarkable journey. This reading will be followed by a brief Q&A with the poets and writers. This event will be streamed live on our YouTube channel and on our Facebook page.

Charles Payne

Charles Payne won Arts + Literature Laboratory’s inaugural ALL Originals Prize for his poems "Dead End" and "Dinner with a Pig." This was his first national publication. Charles Payne is a Madison transplant, a certified teacher, and a self-taught social artist from Michigan. As a child, he loved hearing the sound of Paul Harvey's voice, their innate ability to describe every intricate detail truly inspired Charles to tell stories himself. And, yes, Charles can't wait to give you the rest of the story.

Khalisa Rae

Khalisa Rae is a poet, educator, and journalist in Durham, NC, and author of Real Girls Have Real Problems chapbook. Her poetry can be seen in Crab Fat, Rust and Moth, Frontier Poetry, Flypaper Lit, Damaged Goods, Hellebore, Terse, Sundog Lit, PANK Tishman Review, Occulum, and The Obsidian, among others. Khalisa is the winner of the Bright Wings Poetry contest, the Furious Flower Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize, and the White Stag Publishing Contest, among others. Currently, she serves as Managing Equity Editor at Carve Magazine and is the Writing Center Director at Shaw University. Her debut collection, Ghost in a Black Girls Throat, is available from Red Hen Press in April 2021 and Unlearning Eden from White Stag Publishing Winter '21.

Taylor Koekkoek

Taylor Koekkoek received his MFA from Johns Hopkins University. His work has been supported by Oregon Literary Arts, the Breadloaf’s Writer’s Conference and has appeared in Paris Review, Glimmer Train, Ploughshares, Tin House, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. His short story collection, Thrillville, USA, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster. He is the Carol Houck Smith Fiction Fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.

CALENDAR

May Watershed Reading

Charles Payne

Khalisa Rae

Taylor Koekkoek

PLAN YOUR VISIT

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