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Poets Gather at Black Fusion Writers Workshop Poets Come Together at the Black Fusion Writers Workshop

The Community Folk Art Center hosts the workshop once a month.

By Taylor Mascetta

Taylor Mascetta: Every month, people from all across Central New York come to Syracuse for the Poetry Black Fusion Writers Workshop. Cedric Bolton started the workshop back in February. He says “black fusion” brings all sorts of artists together to write poems of their identity.

Cedric Bolton: Bringing these people together who may write rap style, people who might write sonnets, who may write very traditional poems, who may just not even know anything about poetry. That’s the fusion. That’s the mix.

Mascetta: Bolton kicks off the meetings by discussing a famous poet’s work with the group. Next, a prompt is displayed and the poets write for about 15 minutes. Then they share their work. Tonight was Syracuse resident Maria Danae’s first session. She said it’s an important space for the Black community to express themselves.

Maria Danae: Black is so many things. It can be… It can be Blasian. It can be Jamaican. It can be so many things, and they all fuse together, and it’s all unity in one culture, speaking our truth.

Mascetta: Ricky Maeweather, known as the “Randum Poet,” has been with the group since the very beginning. A frequent participant in poetry slams, Maeweather says each meeting gives him new skills to fuse with his style.

Ricky “Randum” Maeweather: So every time I come here, I take a little bit, piece by piece from every person so I put it into my own type of style, and then bring it back on stage and see how I evolve from the last previous workshop.

Mascetta: The Community Folk Art Center will host the next meeting this summer.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The Community Folk Art Center primarily highlights paintings, sculptures and drawings. But there’s a written form of art there as well.

Each month, the center hosts the Poetic Black Fusion Writers Workshop. It’s an event designed to bring all sorts of poets together to embrace their identity.

Cedric Bolton is the CFAC’s Education Outreach Program Coordinator. He first developed the idea for Black Fusion while living in Minneapolis, before bringing the workshop to life in Syracuse this February.

Bolton says that Black Fusion brings people together, regardless of writing style.

 

woman explaining poem
“Black Fusion” brings poets from all backgrounds for a night of creativity.
© 2020 Taylor Mascetta

“Bringing these people together who may write rap style, people who might write sonnets, who may write very traditional poems, who may just not even know anything about poetry,” Bolton said. “That’s the fusion. That’s the mix.”

Bolton kicks off the meetings with a quick icebreaker, so newcomers and returners alike can get to know each other. Next, the group discusses a famous poet’s work, before diving into a prompt of their own. Once Bolton unveils the monthly theme, poets get to work and write for about 15 minutes. Once finished, the poets read their poems aloud. Some result in laughs, others in tears, but altogether they showcase who they are.

 

girl and guy writing
Poets spend about 15 to 20 minutes writing before sharing their work with the group.
© 2021 Taylor Mascetta

This particular meeting was Maria Danae’s first session. To her, Black Fusion offers an important space for the Black community to express themselves.

“Black is so many things,” Danae said. “It can be Blasian. It can be Jamaican. It can be so many things, and they all fuse together, and it’s all unity in one culture, speaking our truth.”

Ricky “Randum” Maeweather has been around since the beginning, having befriended and worked with Bolton for many years. Maeweather specializes in slam poetry competitions, and he says each meeting gives him new skills to fuse with his style.

 

ricky leading the group
Ricky “Randum” Maeweather gets a “poetry” chant going.
© 2022 Taylor Mascetta

“Every time I come here, I take a little bit, piece by piece from every person so I put it into my own type of style,” Maeweather said. “Then I bring it back on stage and see how I evolve from the last previous workshop.”

Maeweather says every attendee has the same agenda.

“We’re all here for the same thing, and that’s becoming better writers,” he said.

The CFAC will host its next workshop sometime this summer.

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