How we made 150 years of poetry tradition feel fresh

Overview:

To mark the publication of Afro-Creole Poetry in French, a landmark volume from The Historic New Orleans Collection, we invited three contemporary Louisiana poets to respond to 19th-century Black verse with original works of their own.

Execution:

We produced a video series that paired historical and contemporary readings — a dynamic call-and-response between Black poets across centuries, languages and forms. These readings took place in both French and English, creating something that felt scholarly and urgent, timeless and alive.

Results:

The series earned widespread engagement from a niche but passionate audience. It won the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Longform Award and was honored at the 2025 Modern Language Association Convention.

‍

"We Are the Holy Ones" by Kelly Harris-DeBerry, responding to "The Triumph of the Oppressed"