Left of Black: E. Patrick Johnson and Honoreé Fanonne Jeffers

Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined via Skype© by E. Patrick Johnson, author of Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South; an Oral History. A Professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University, Johnson’s ethnographic work on this book evolved into a play called Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales. Johnson shares his motivation to turn his book into a play, and also discusses how his journey through these projects helped him better come to terms with his own personal issues. He shares his reactions to the different responses he’s gotten so far from to the stage performance. Johnson, whose play premiered in Chicago’s About Face Theater and was recently staged at The Signature Theater in Arlington Virginia, also discusses the significance of the title.
Later Neal is joined by Honoreé Fannone Jeffers, poet, commentator, satirist, blogger and professor of English at the University of Oklahoma. Jeffers, author of several collections of poetry including The Gospel of Barbecue and Red Clay Suite, discusses her blog Phillis Remastered and her work-in-progress on the 18th century poet Phillis Wheatley. In a wide ranging conversation, Neal and Jeffers also discuss the legacy of Aishah Shahidah Simmons’ groundbreaking film NO! The Rape Documentary, the Slut Walk protest & the concept of Post-Black.