Africana Studies @ Wilkes presents
UNDER THE BAOBAB TREE: A GRIOT CELEBRATION
Monday, April 20 | 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM | Sordoni Art Gallery
Share your voice. Hear a story. Feed your soul.
In West African traditions, the baobab tree—the “Tree of Life”—is the gathering place where communities come together to share stories, preserve history, and pass down wisdom across generations. It is beneath the baobab that the griot—storyteller, oral historian, poet, musician, and keeper of community knowledge—has long served as the living memory of the people.
Join us for an evening of great food and community as we honor this tradition at Wilkes University. Share your poetry, tell a tale, perform a song or hymn, read a folktale, deliver a spoken word piece, share a family story or life lesson, do a step routine, try your hand at freestyle verse, or simply come, eat, and listen. Performances should be no more than 4 minutes each.
Scan the QR Code or visit https://forms.gle/tFbYzRQ4EMmRtJ748 to sign up.
All performers will receive an AFS @ Wilkes T-shirt!
The event will feature Deirdre Van Walters, a spoken word teaching artist and the Chair of Basement Poetry, a Bethlehem, PA, theatre group that is committed to serving the community through raw and original art that informs its audiences. The evening will also feature a performance by Assétou Xango, a performer, writer and facilitator known as the Dark Goddess Poet. Their work is dedicated to the visibility and rights of women and gender non-conforming people of color through storytelling that dismantles binaries and divisions.
This event is co-sponsored by the Associate Provost for Academic and Diversity Affairs, the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Sordoni Art Gallery, the Wilkes University Creative Writing MA/MFA Program, the Office of Diversity Initiatives, and the Multicultural Student Coalition.