Poet, performance artist,
non profit arts administrator who resides in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Voted #75 of the 102 Best Things About Pittsburgh by In Pittsburgh weekly. www.inpgh.com. Named on of the 40 Under 40 movers and shakers in 2001 by Pittsburgh Magazine. Also known as the
user,
Svaha
PUBLICATIONS
Her CD, “in the image of
angels” is distributed by
www.poetryslam.com.
Selected publications include: Callaloo, Fireweed, InContext, Survivor Magazine, Crack, FEMSPEC, Forbidden Panda, This Order, Sinister Wisdom, Outlet Literary Journal, Mothering Magazine, Shooting Star Review, The Pennsylvania Review, Drumvoices, Amethyst, The New Voice.
Anthologies include: In Our Own Words II: Voices From Generation X, MWE Enterprises, Standing on The Ceiling and Companions, Foxfold Press, Will Work For Peace, Zeropanik Press, Sinister Wisdom 15th Anniversary Issue, Revival: Spoken Word From Lollapalooza '94, Manic D Press, Da Juice!, Fireweed Press, A Piece Of My Heart, SisterVision Press, Toronto, The Poetry Of Sex and Riding Desire, Banned Books.
POETRY PERFORMANCE
This year, she was the Co-Champion in the Individual 2001 Rustbelt Poetry Slam Regionals. Pittsburgh's Poetry Slam Champion from 1994 until 1998. She has performed poetry in:
New York,
Ohio,
Tennessee,
Georgia,
North Carolina,
Washington D.C.,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Arkansas,
Texas,
Pennsylvania, and
Massachusetts at such
notable places such as Harrison Museum of African-American Culture, North Carolina School Of the Arts and
Nuyorican Poet’s Café. She had the great “honor” of being a traveling poet with
Lollapalooza '94.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
At
Lincoln Center, this August, she will present two new collaborative pieces with
composer Charles Griffin during Composer’s Collaborative annual Non Sequitur Festival directed by Valeria Vasileski. In March of 2001, she
premiered a fully collaborative piece entitled "Archetypal Alchemie: A Word Movement Vision” with
Regie Gibson,
Tyehimba Jess and LA composer, Tucki Bailey at The Frick Fine Arts Auditorium. She premiered "Diary Of A Black Princess" during "Epic" at the Homewood Library Theatre in April of 2000. "Diary Of A Black Princess" was a sequel to "Painbrush," a performance work in collaboration with photographer Zed Armstrong was performed during "The Painted Phrase" at Viaduct Art Gallery. Other performance work includes: "Life Rites" at City Theatre, "Licking The Knife's Edge," at City Theatre and the rock-poetry opera "Mary Magdalene & the Apostles" at The Acting Company.
AWARDS
She was one of 84 PA artists to receive a 2000 Individual Arts Fellowship from the
Pennsylvania Council On the Arts in Poetry. She has had the privilege of receiving both
scholarships and a fellowship in
Cave Canem. She has been the Poet In Residence at the prestigious Winchester-Thurston School since 1999.
FILM WORK
Recently, she wrote and performed the voiceovers for Curtis Reaves' new documentary, "Talladega!" Additional film and video work includes: Producer, Writer, Director, "Creation Of Destiny," Assistant Producer, Art Director, Narration Screenwriter, for
Zeinabu Irene Davis’ "
A Powerful Thang." “A Powerful Thang” was awarded Best Production Design by The
Atlanta Film and Video Festival.
INSTALLATION
In and around Pittsburgh, she has done two site specific installations, "Aedas de Vita" and "Grace" at Aliquippa Embraces Art. "Life Rites" was staged in a sculptural installation she created. Her installations, "Look Out Whitey," "Padded Walls," "The
Tampon Bush," and "Fact of Life" have been exhibited in Ohio.
WORKSHOPS
She toured
England in the Fall of 2000 and taught poetry workshops to college and high school students at: Norwich School Of The Arts, University Of East Anglia and Blickling Hall – birthplace of Ann Boleyn. In the United States, she has worked with children at The Winchester-Thurston School, Creative and Performing Arts High School of Pittsburgh, Peabody High School, and Sheldon Park Resident Council.
ADDITIONAL
She is the co-founder and Administrative Director of
Sun Crumbs . She holds a B.A. with a triple major in Theatre-Dance/Literature from of
Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She is the former General Manager of WYEP 91.3 Pittsburgh, during which time the station was voted best radio station in Pittsburgh. She was also the Administrative Manager of The Envirolink Network, and The Bandwidth Collective.