A Night of Poet Laureates

Antoinette Brim-Bell (Antoinette Brim), Connecticut’s 8th State Poet Laureate, is the author of three full-length poetry collections: These Women You Gave Me, Icarus in Love, and Psalm of the Sunflower. She is a Cave Canem Foundation Fellow and an alumna of Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA). Brim-Bell was nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice, for poetry and essay. Her poetry has appeared in various journals, magazines, textbooks, and anthologies, including Villanelles, 44 on 44: Forty-Four African American Writers on the 44th President of the United States, Not A Muse, and has appeared in Poetry Magazine and Poem-a-Day. Additionally, Brim-Bell has published critical work, most notably, essays: “Living Behind the Numbers: A Statistic Muses about her Life” (National Association of African American Studies Monograph Series); “The Myopic Eye in Alice Walker’s ‘Flowers’” (Critical Insights: Alice Walker, Salem Press) and “Juxtaposed Dichotomies: the idealized white suburban pastoral, the surrealist tableau of black poverty & the women in between” (The Whiskey of Our Discontent: Gwendolyn Brooks as Conscience and Change Agent, Haymarket Books). A printmaker and collage artist, Brim-Bell exhibited both poetry and monoprints in Jazz: An exhibition of Poetry, Prints, and Photography at the Sumner McKnight Crosby Jr. Gallery in New Haven, CT, and Sheroes, in partnership with the Alliance of Women Veterans at the Grove in New Haven, CT. She serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors of Indolent Arts Foundation based in New York City, is a past Board Member of OneWorld Progressive Institute, and a past President of the Board of Directors of the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, CT. Additionally, Brim-Bell hosted a series of Black History Month television programs for the OneWorld Progressive Institute. She is also a former guest host of Patrick Oliver’s Literary Nation Talk Radio (KABF 88.3, Little Rock), for which she interviewed a variety of entertainers, literary figures, political pundits, and community developers. A sought-after speaker, editor, educator, and consultant, Brim-Bell is a Professor of English at Capital Community College in Hartford, CT.

Frank E. Brady is an Award-Winning Poet, Educational Consultant & Mental Health Advocate. He has appeared on BET, Soultrain.com, The Source Hip-Hop Magazine, and recently, ABC Networks. Frank has an undying dedication to youth development. He is a former High School Teacher with a love for Literacy & Social-Emotional Development.

Frederick Douglass Knowes II is a  Professor of English at Connecticut State Community College, Three Rivers Campus. He is a Hartford Poet Laureate Emeritus. Knowles is a recipient of the Nutmeg Poetry Award and the Connecticut of The Arts Fellow in Artist for Excellence for Poetry/Creative non-Fiction. He is a two-time Pushcart Proze nominee and the the author of BlackRoseCity.

Sharmont (Influence) Little is a poet, activist and actor. He utilizes spoken word poetry to deliver Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Influence is an educator and advocate for inner- city youth and has performed at Yale, Virginia State and Boston Universities, as well as a host of other colleges and public schools across the nation.

He has performed at historic poetry venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Café and the Lizard Lounge. He is a six-time member of the Connecticut poetry slam team, Verbal Slap; Coach of the 2017 Verbal Slap and 2021 Yale university poetry slam teams. He has utilized poetry to speak on behalf of workers for Yale New Haven Hospital 1199 union in 2007, and in Washington DC to members of Congress for the Free Labor Choice Act. He is the creator of Influence A Life LLC, a curriculum based program teaching coping skills, social skills, and conflict resolution. He lives by his motto: Influence a Life every day; it’s just a way of living.