Charles Curtis Blackwell speaks of The Bay. From Eddy to Lombard. East 14th to the Embarcadero, he has spent a life noticing, learning, interpreting, improvising. A long respected figure of the poetry community, his work blends words with a beat, dancing, painting – a quest across mediums to offer the audience a window into “who is Charles? and what does it mean to be in this place”
At the Tenderloin Museum at 6:30 pm on Thursday, February 20th, Charles has organized an evening of poetry and jazz that features new, improvised work intertwined with a tribute to his friend and fellow poet Q.R. Hand. Presented as part of TLM’s Sounds of the TL series, Tender Musical Tapestries features Blackwell in concert with a trio of improvising musicians–Sandra Poindexter (violin), Kash Killion (cello/bass), and Donald Griggs (trumpet)–plus special guests.
Before the show DJ Reality Check met up with Charles at the Ed Roberts campus in Berkeley for a conversation spanning his upbringing in Sacramento, teaching in state prisons and art practice. Join us at 7pm on Wednesday, February 19th for this conversation.
