Bucknell is in bloom! Between the fruitful new foliage of the Pennsylvanian grasslands, five furious flowers have sprouted this fall. Josh Pearson’ 28, Kaylin Reynolds’ 27, Athaliah Elvis’ 26, Omuhle Ndhlovu’ 26, and Naomi Malone’ 25, were selected to attend the Ⅳ Furious Flower Conference at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA. The five Bucknellians witnessed history as this was the 40th year of Furious Flower. The Furious Flower Conference Poetry Conference originated in 1994 under the pen of Dr. Joanne Gabbin to celebrate the wonderful Gwendolyn Brooks’ impact on Black poetry. Since then, the conference has convened every ten years for scholars and writers to commemorate the trends of Black literature, culture, and thought. These writers and scholars in attendance also have the opportunity to publish a volume of poetry, poetics, and criticism to memorialize each conference.
Wined– without the wine– and dined with rare steak, butter rolls, asparagus, and tossed potatoes, the Bucknellians gathered at tables in their best attire to celebrate poets Elizabeth Alexander, Kwame Dawes, Cornelius Eady, Nikky Finney, Lorna Goodison, E. Ethelbert Miller, Harryette Mullen, Niyi Osundare, Timothy Seibles, Patricia Smith, for their lifetime achievements to the world of Black poetry. With pin-ups and long gowns, suits, and funky ties, the beautiful black crowd shone like stars beneath the low lightning. Camera flashes twinkled like comets in the dark room as Black excellence boomed across the cosmos. There were chirps of laughter, waves of long, loving conversations, and sunsets of new greetings. The 2024 conference spanned from September 18th to September 21st, providing the students to attend many different poetry readings, presentations, and performances by the invited poets. Each conference day started with a reading by selected Featured Poets, Poet Laureates, and Keynote Speakers. Following these readings and conversations, the students had an opportunity to explore the concurring performances and readings.
My personal favorite was a reading by poet Ashley Rose, who did a performance piece about the hatred dark-skinned black women are subjected to by Black men and society at large. Her remarkable poem, which she performed as a duet with a vocalist, caressed my gaping wounds loosely stitched together from bracing adulthood. I admired the ways these poets were able to bring together the words of the ‘Black Ancestor’ with their own, creating a huger conversation on the long-lasting effects of slavery on the Black diasporas today. There were also intersections with the Black queer poets, which I found very fascinating. Additionally, there were African poets and Afro-Caribbean poets, bringing in a global perspective to poetry. In each poet’s work, I felt intricately connected to their experiences in some form or shape of way, and it was riveting.
As an attendee, I especially enjoyed the creativity of poets who made creative nonfiction poems that incorporated ‘race’ science and technology. Gregory Pardlo, a Featured Poet, uses this racial technology to speak of a parallel universe where white people face the day-to-day horrors that seep into the most mundane parts of existence that coincide with blackness. On the topic of poetry and science, Featured Poet Anastacia-Renée, read a series of poems, one of which was centered around feminism and Afrofuturism. In her poem, she creates a distanced safe haven reality for Black women to frolic freely and reconcile with one another for the grievances inflicted upon each other from womanhood on a patriarchal planet. I found that poem very beautiful and fun, so much so that I spoke to the poet afterward, and she encouraged me to make a similar poem with the prompt to write about a planet where I would find my own safe haven. That poem is still being workshopped in my notes app. Her other poems spoke about black womanness, queerness, and mental health and how they are all so deeply intertwined with one another.
The fourth decennial Furious Flower Conference concluded on Saturday, September 21, 2024, with closing remarks and a Finale concert by the country singer-songwriter Brittney Spencer. Upon reflecting my leave from the conference, I gradually felt my creativity levels spiking, and felt very inspired to continue practicing my writing. I had hoped for this conference to inspire me out of my writing slump, to continue producing art that was meaningful for me, and to express my deepest feelings. At the conferences’ conclusion, I felt more confident in myself as a writer and a poet. Being surrounded by other successful Black scholars, artists, and writers was invigorating to catch a glimpse of my future as a Black writer. Conferences such as this are important because they invite Black students to see themselves as creatives and explore their humanity in the interdisciplinary field of the humanities. It encourages Black students to think beyond the fields of STEM and immerse themselves in the power of literature and creative writing. Black Literature is essential to developing a well-rounded education and a critical understanding of Black English as a dialect spoken amongst generations of Black people in America and beyond the borders.
Last but not least, thank you to Qyaira Colbert, Assistant Director of Multicultural Student Services for Black Student Engagement, for chaperoning this amazing opportunity for the Bucknellians and working hard to reaffirm the existence and needs of Bucknell’s Black student body.
— Athaliah Elvis