April 19–26, 2001

arts picks|reading

June Jordan

The liberation movements of the 1960s and ’70s engrained many things into our society, but one of the most pervasive is the concept that the personal is political and vice versa, or as our grandmothers used to say, "Practice what you preach." The poet/professor/activist/writer June Jordan seems to have made this her mantra. Her newest book, her 26th, Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood, tells the story of her youth and the militaristic training her father put her through so that she could prepare for life as a black person in this country. Her writings show how she took that desensitizing experience and used it as compost for her fighting spirit, and her personal politics.

—Walidah Imarisha

Sun., April 22, 4-6 p.m., Church of the Advocate, 1801 W. Diamond St., 215-232-4485; Mon., April 23, 6:30 p.m., and Tue., April 24, 10 a.m., RSVP only (whfellow@english.upenn.edu), Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, 215-573-WRIT, www.english.upenn.edu/~wh.