An Evening of Poetry with Fabu

A Reading, Book Signing, and Celebration

Unique Poems Reflect Children, Women and African Americans The Madison Arts Commission is pleased to invite you to attend Fabu Phillis Carter's (known professionally as Fabu), final reading and book signing as our City's poet laureate on Friday, December 2, 2011 from 6:00-7:30pm on the Rotunda Stage at the Overture Center. Her tenure as Madison Poet Laureate promised to put poetry "in unusual places and spaces." She succeeded in promoting poetry in magazines, newspapers, buses, libraries, building and one poem is pressed into the sidewalk on Williamson street in front of The Weary Traveler restaurant. Fabu's term began in January 2008 and ends in January of 2012. We invite the public to attend her Overture reading on December 2nd where we will recognize her fine work as our third poet laureate. During Fabu's last four years of voluntary service to our City, she shared poetry at Burke and Oak Hill Prisons; UW Extension Summer Programs, Madison, Cottage Grove, McFarland, Stoughton and Sun Prairie school districts; churches; festivals; Dane County Mental Health; the Wisconsin Book Festival, the Kickapoo Valley Organic Festival, Juneteenth Celebrations; and many other venues. Fabu had poetry columns in UMOJA magazine, Madison Magazine, The Madison Times and The Capital City Hues during her tenure which celebrated poetry from elementary student poets to adult poets. She also promoted and judged Bus Lines, a program for High School poets that put poetry on Madison Metro buses for the past three years. Fabu, who writes to "encourage, inspire and remind," has just released her second and third poetry books, "In Our Own Tongues" (published by The University of Nairobi Press) and "African-American Life in Haiku: Journey to the Midwest" (published by Parallel Press in Madison). Early in her tenure as poet laureate, Fabu also published "Poems, Dreams and Roses," a compilation of poems specifically for children and youth. She will read selections from all three works at her December 2nd event and have a book signing. Fabu began writing at the age of 11 and has continued to create poetry throughout her adult life. Fabu holds a double Masters Degree from the University of Wisconsin - in African Languages and Literature and African-American Studies. She is also a founding member of the Hibiscus Collective, a local group of multi-cultural women writers, works with elders in The Alzheimer's Poetry Project with Gary Glazner, and is a guest columnist for The Capital Times and The Capital City Hues. Fabu was appointed as Madison's third Poet Laureate by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in 2008. Her appointment is strongly supported by the Madison Arts Commission and the Office of Mayor Paul Soglin. We anticipate that Mayor Paul Soglin will announce the next Madison Poet Laureate in January of 2012. Please help us honor Fabu and her loving work for our community on Friday, December 2, 2011 by attending "An Evening of Poetry with Fabu: Madison's Third Poet Laureate (2008-2011)." Her schedule of other upcoming book signings and events is listed on her website, http://artistfabu.com/, along with the additional services she provides such as: workshops, storytelling, readings, lectures, public speaking, and "poet in residence" programs.

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