The 7th edition of Yolanda Wisher’s Rent Party at The Rosenbach invites you to join a copacetic caravan with the Black Beats – poets of African descent who were part of the Beat poetry movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the Black Beats inspired avant garde, countercultural and spiritual revolutions. The evening will highlight the lives and voices of Amiri Baraka, Jayne Cortez, Ted Joans, and Bob Kaufman--four Black Beats who performed along the continuum of poetry and music and carved out legacies of radical art and action. Poet Warren Longmire will read from his work and vocussionist Bethlehem will deliver a performance on her tarima/platform drum. Yolanda Wisher and the Afroeaters will conclude the evening with a special set of Beat poetry classics against bebop backdrops.
 
Featured artists:
Warren Longmire is a writer, a software engineer, and an educator from the bad part of North Philadelphia. He is the co-founder of the Excelano Project Spoken Word Collective, the Director of Poetry Events for Blue Stoop, and Program Manager for the Nick Virgilio Writers House In Camden. You can find his writing in the American Poetry Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Eleven Eleven, The New Purlieu Review, and on his instagram @alongmirewriter.

A Philadelphia native, Bethlehem has been singing since she was a child--by herself and vocalizing with her musical cousins. Performing around the region for over 15 years, Bethlehem is an in-demand professional who has worked with numerous Philly artists and musicians and sung in churches and cafes as well as notable venues/events such as The Kimmel Center, TEDx Philadelphia, Sistah's Attune, and The Philadelphia Jazz Project.

Seating is limited and advanced registration is strongly recommended.