Today we’re talking with Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey, an author, performer, and producer. He’s the author of two books: Look, Black Boy and Heart Notes. In 2020 he was named Best Poet/Spoken Word Performer in Cedar Rapids & Iowa City. He co-founded the literary magazine Black Art; Real Stories, was published in Iowa's Best Emerging Poets - 2019, the Little Village Magazine, and wrote a monthly column for The Real Mainstream.
As a performer he is the winner of the Des Moines Poetry Slam, the Iowa City Poetry Slam, a two-time winner of the Fire & Ice Poetry Slam, and a finalist for the UNESCO City of Literature Global Poetry Slam – Iowa City. When he is not writing and performing he is actively curating a community of spoken word poets in Iowa City through his creation of a high school program, IC Speaks, and producing local events like Poetry & Motion.
The music for this podcast is "Ira" by Blake Shaw.
Ongoing support comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Iowa Arts Council, and from the United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund. Phase 1 is an initiative of Arts Midwest and its peer United States Regional Arts Organizations made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Writers of Color Reading Series is produced by the Englert in Iowa City, Iowa, and is supported by Friends of the Englert. Visit www.englert.org/friends to support our programming.
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Host: Jesus “Chuy” Renteria
Line Producer & Audio Engineer: Savannah Lane
Executive Producers: John Schickedanz & Andre Perry
