Spoken Word Artist Performs in Brighton

Together with the Livingston Diversity Council, the Community Unitarian Universalists in Brighton will hold a special service Feb. 27 to celebrate Black History Month.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place at and will feature Blair, a Detroit-based teacher, poet, singer-songwriter, and spoken-word artist.

Blair's work has received national and international attention. His awards include a National Poetry Slam Championship and a BENT Writing Institute Mentor Award. A regular speaker at primary and secondary schools across the country, he has also performed in Europe and South Africa. On a recent trip to Russia, he led workshops in Siberia.

Blair works in the Detroit Public Schools as a writer-in-residence for the InsideOut Literary Arts Project, a program that places professional writers in K–12 classrooms to encourage reading and writing. Blair also teaches writing and music at the Hannan House Senior Center and the YMCA. For his most recent project with InsideOut, he's translating Emily Dickinson's work from poetry to music. A collection of poems about Detroit, his chapbook Detroit (while I was away) has just been published.

Committed to “standing on the side of love,” the CUUB invites the public to see Blair perform live and to meet its new minister Rev. Yvonne E. Schumacher.

The service begins at 10:30 am and will be followed by coffee and conversation.

The BECC is located at 125 South Church St. in Brighton.