Sekou Sundiata's the 51st (dream) state

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29
8 pm | $20

the 51st (dream) state is a contemplation of America’s national identity, its power in the world, and its guiding mythologies by the nationally acclaimed poet Sekou Sundiata, who imagines it to be his poetic and personal “state of the American Soul address.” It is an adventure, a quest to find a vision of what it means to be both a citizen and an individual in a complex, hyperkinetic society. In a cycle of songs, poems, and monologues performed by the poet and an all-star ensemble of singers and musicians, supported by still and moving images, the work circles a wide range of issues including language, violence, compassion, power, love, destiny, beauty, and human solidarity.

As a public engagement enterprise, The America Project has two components, the first being incorporated into a weeklong residency at Bucknell with the poet and other artists. Activities will focus on the issues of citizenship, democracy, and imagination, and will include dinners, community sings, music and vocal workshops, poetry circles, and more.

Sekou Sundiata is a poet for print, performance, music, and theatre. He has been a Sundance Institute Screenwriting Fellow, a Columbia University Revson Fellow, a Master Artist-in-Residence at Florida’s Atlantic Center for the Arts, the first Writer-in-Residence at the New School University, and a Lambent Arts Fellow. He is a professor at Eugene Lang College in New York City. He has been featured on PBS and HBO and has written and performed highly acclaimed theatre works including blessing the boats, his first solo piece.

Order Tickets Online in early September