Extra Extra A Gentleman Steps In

Extra Extra A Gentleman Steps In
Poet Delores Tolliver Sheila Barabad
Extra Extra A Gentleman Steps In
Poet Delores Tolliver Sheila Barabad

Extra Extra A Gentleman Steps In

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Poet Delores Tolliver was inspired to write her piece about a personal experience.  In 2006 she had been walking in Hyde Park, feeling safe and secure. She writes: “The buildings in Hyde Park are tall and well-structured towering over the community like a coat of armor.” Until a young man approached her, started following her, and then chased her.

Click here to read this piece.

Verse Journalism is a form of poetry inspired by the news. It was born here in Chicago when Gwendolyn Brooks coined the term. Another gifted local poet, Quraysh Ali Lansana, taught the form to participants in a Neighborhood Writing Alliance special workshop series. Lansana had NWA writers turn their opinions and reactions to news events into poems, which WBEZ will present throughout the month of April in celebration of National Poetry Month. This series was recorded in collaboration with the Neighborhood Writing Alliance, a station partner.

Click here to listen to other Verse Journalism recordings made as part of this project.

You can also listen to Quraysh Ali Lansana speak with WBEZ’s Jason Marck about the origins of verse journalism and his own experiences with the form.