UMBRA was both a literary collective and literary magazine founded by Black writers and artists living in New York’s Lower East Side in the early 1960s, many of whom participated in proto-Project readings and influenced the formation of The Poetry Project. Scholar Tonya Foster joins The Poetry Project in celebrating the work of UMBRA poets. This evening traces the influence of Lorenzo Thomas, Calvin Hernton, Norman Pritchard and David Henderson on younger poets and artists influenced, locating UMBRA’s history in print and in person, past and present. With Tonya Foster, David Henderson, Rashidah Ismaili, Ammiel Alcalay, Genji Amino, and Jace Clayton.

This event is being made possible with support from New York Council for the Humanities.