Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Jan.24-Jan. 30)

Wednesday, 9 p.m.: Poetry Night at Caffe Aroma, biweekly open mic reading series hosted by Ben Brindise and Justin Karcher. 957 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo.

Friday,  6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: 4th Friday Poetry Series featuring Geneva, NY based poet and writer G.S. Murphy. Additional reading slots available. Dog Ears Bookstore & Café, 688 Abbott Rd., Buffalo. $5.

Sunday, 6 p.m.: Pure Ink Poetry Slam,  a two-round spoken word and poetry slam competition hosted by Brandon Williamson. Pure Ink Poetry Slam is always an open slam without specific themes or requirements other than the general rules of slam. $10.00 for spectators, $5.00 for slammers. Visit the website www.pureinkpoetry.com for additional information. Lorna C. Hill Theatre, Ujima Theatre Co., 429 Plymouth Ave., Buffalo.

Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Talking Leaves Books, in partnership with the Office of Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Initiatives (CLRI) of the Buffalo Public Schools and Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, welcomes MacArthur Foundation Fellow and National Book Award winning historian and anti-racism activist Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to Buffalo's Asbury Hall (341 Delaware Ave)  to launch his most recent book, Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers (Amistad/Harper Collins).

Dr. Kendi has reworked noted author Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon, her oral history of one of the last living survivors of the last ship to bring enslaved Africans to the United States, for middle grade readers. The book is the life story of the formerly enslaved Cudjo Lewis, told in his own words as an 80 year old. Joining Dr. Kendi in a lively conversation will be Buffalo artist and author Ariel Aberg-Riger, whose debut graphic history America Redux: Visual Stories from our Dynamic History, was recently awarded the prestigious 2023 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature.

They will talk about how to make history come alive for young readers, about the legacy of Zora Neale Hurston and her work, about words and images in history telling, and about current efforts to restrict access to history, books, and ideas.  Admission to this event requires the purchase of a copy of Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers at the special price of $15.00 plus tax from Talking Leaves Books from their website (https://www.tleavesbooks.com/book/9780063098336), in the store, or at the event.  Aberg-Riger's book and other titles by Dr. Kendi will also be available for purchase at Asbury Hall that evening. Readers ages 8 and up are welcome to attend. Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo