Autry, Turiya

Project: Poetry off the Page
A study of, and participation in, the art of spoken word. Let literature live lyrically beyond the barriers of pages! Experience poetry through readings, viewings, presentations, performances, writing sessions, and discussion. Prepare your students to stand and deliver. This workshop is tailored to meet students and teachers where they are at, and is flexible in approach and focus to fit the needs of the group.

Educator, activist, author, and performer, Turiya's poignant lyrical observations take the form of slam poetry, hip-hop rhymes, and soulful singing. As an instructor at Portland State University in both Black Studies and Women Studies, she teaches a wide range of courses which include: African American Literature, Black Feminism, Race/Class/Gender/ Sexuality, Hip-Hop, and Spoken Word as Resistance. This phenomenal solo artist regularly tours locally and nationally as half of spoken-word dynamic duo Good Sista/Bad Sista (with Walidah Imarisha), and as a member of hip-hop crew, Womb Dialectic (with Mic Crenshaw and Keith Schreiner), bringing poetry and the art of life itself beyond the boundaries of mere pages.