aja monet brings her bold, powerful poetry to the Singletary Center stage
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2024) — Grammy-nominated poet and activist aja monet opens the Singletary Center’s 2024-25 season at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall as part of her “Let’s Be Offline Together” tour.
aja monet hails from New York City with Cuban and Jamaican roots. She discovered her love for poetry early on, rising to prominence as a spoken-word artist during high school and winning the Nuyorican Poets Café’s Grand Slam at 19. monet’s collection “My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter,” notably featuring her poem #sayhername, earned widespread acclaim.
monet’s poetry delves into themes of Black resistance, liberation, love and joy, characterized by raw emotion, vivid imagery and powerful language. Influenced by revolutionary poets like Audre Lorde and Amiri Baraka, her work captures the essence of the human experience with depth and complexity. In August monet held the distinguished honor of performing at the legendary Newport Jazz Festival, the first poet to perform at the festival since Langston Hughes in 1960.
The surrealist blues poet fuses her message with live jazz accompaniment to create emotionally compelling narratives. Through her live performances and debut collection, monet channels urgency and honesty, crafting poems that resonate universally.
“I am tremendously excited to share this special artist with the UK and Lexington communities,” said Singletary Center Director Matthew Gibson. “aja is a charismatic force on stage, able to make you laugh and cry within the span of a single poem. Both the content of her work and her delivery of her poems are a joy to experience.”
UK students with a valid student ID can receive one free ticket directly from the Singletary Center ticket office at 405 Rose St. in Lexington.
General public tickets are $29 adults and $18 for non-UK students (additional processing fees may apply) and can be purchased online, by phone at 859-257-4929, or visiting the SCFA Ticket Office.
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A part of the University of Kentucky’s College of Fine Arts, the Singletary Center for the Arts presents and hosts around 400 artistic, cultural and educational events annually for UK’s campus, the Lexington community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Find a performance you’ll love at www.SingletaryCenter.com.
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