Podcast appearances and mentions of Christian J Collier

Greater Ghost by Christian J. Collier by Poets & Writers

Poet of the Week, November 18–24, 2024. Full text of the poem & interview: brooklynpoets.org/community/poet/christian-j-collier

Weekly shoutout: Greater Ghost, a new poetry collection by Christian J. Collier, now available from Four Way Books (AC22) -- Hi there, Today I am so excited to be arts calling playwright Sarah Congress! (sarahcongress.com) About our Guest: Sarah Congress is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her play "Melting" was just selected to be produced this October at Siena College for their Climate Justice plays series. She co-wrote the screenplay "I Can't Hear You," which won BEST COMEDY in the 2024 Jersey Shore Film Festival and 2nd place in the APin3 Film Challenge in Asbury Park. Her comedy Overdose won 2nd place for Best Short in the 2023 Downtown Urban Arts Festival at Playwrights Horizons. She teaches playwriting and screenwriting and works part-time for the Dean's Office at Columbia University, School of the Arts. Learn more about Sarah here: https://sarahcongress.com/ Check out Sarah's upcoming playwriting classes! -Saturday, September 21st: "Let's Write a Ten-Minute Play" with the wonderful Hudson Valley Writers Center (virtual): https://writerscenter.org/calendar/play/ -Wednesday, September 25th: "Intuitive Writing Workshop" at Freedom Rocks down the J. Shore (in person): https://freedomrocks.as.me/Intuative-Writing -Tuesday Evenings October 8th-22nd: "Humor Writing" with the fabulous Project Write Now (virtual): https://projectwritenow.org/writers-institute/product/humor-writing/ Thanks for this wonderful conversation, Sarah! All the best! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro (cruzfolio.com). HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN. Much love, j

In Christian Collier's debut poetry collection, Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), this extraordinary Black Southern poet precisely stitches the sutures of grief and gratitude together over our wounds. These pages move between elegies for private hauntings and public ones, the visceral bereavement of a miscarriage alongside the murder of a family member, and the specter of police brutality. With a profound awareness of literary tradition, Collier enters into the American canon and dialogues with Black Southern noir--a poem like "Beloved," whose title expresses not only a genuine tenderness in its term of endearment but invokes Morrison, contextualizes this book within the legacy of racial injustice in the U.S., presenting again the prolific losses and disproportionate Black mortality across time, and yet remembers the resilience of love and transformative possibility of self-actualization from inside tragedy. Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), and the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade, the 2021 Editors' Selection from Bull City Press. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Atlantic, Poetry, December, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal. Instagram: @ichristian3030 Twitter: @ichristian3030 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In Christian Collier's debut poetry collection, Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), this extraordinary Black Southern poet precisely stitches the sutures of grief and gratitude together over our wounds. These pages move between elegies for private hauntings and public ones, the visceral bereavement of a miscarriage alongside the murder of a family member, and the specter of police brutality. With a profound awareness of literary tradition, Collier enters into the American canon and dialogues with Black Southern noir--a poem like "Beloved," whose title expresses not only a genuine tenderness in its term of endearment but invokes Morrison, contextualizes this book within the legacy of racial injustice in the U.S., presenting again the prolific losses and disproportionate Black mortality across time, and yet remembers the resilience of love and transformative possibility of self-actualization from inside tragedy. Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), and the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade, the 2021 Editors' Selection from Bull City Press. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Atlantic, Poetry, December, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal. Instagram: @ichristian3030 Twitter: @ichristian3030 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

In Christian Collier's debut poetry collection, Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), this extraordinary Black Southern poet precisely stitches the sutures of grief and gratitude together over our wounds. These pages move between elegies for private hauntings and public ones, the visceral bereavement of a miscarriage alongside the murder of a family member, and the specter of police brutality. With a profound awareness of literary tradition, Collier enters into the American canon and dialogues with Black Southern noir--a poem like "Beloved," whose title expresses not only a genuine tenderness in its term of endearment but invokes Morrison, contextualizes this book within the legacy of racial injustice in the U.S., presenting again the prolific losses and disproportionate Black mortality across time, and yet remembers the resilience of love and transformative possibility of self-actualization from inside tragedy. Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of Greater Ghost (Four Way Books, 2024), and the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade, the 2021 Editors' Selection from Bull City Press. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Atlantic, Poetry, December, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal. Instagram: @ichristian3030 Twitter: @ichristian3030 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/poetry

Jennifer Gunter spoke with the poet, Christian J. Collier. He is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His works have appeared in several journals and poetry reviews. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2020 ProForma Contest and the 2019-2020 Seven Hills Review Poetry Contest. His most recent work The Gleaming of the Blade,  was named the 2021 Frost Place Competition Editors' Selection.   They discussed the parameters of spoken word and the power of language.  Collier also talked about ways he uses race as a way at getting at a number of other issues such as intimacy and vulnerability. His take on the South is that we exist in a multitude of Souths, some not necessarily evident to all residents.

Christian Collier @ichristian3030 was riding back to his hotel after winning a poetry slam contest in Boston when he started taking inventory of his life. He felt so much gratitude for all the people and circumstances that led up to this celebratory moment and asked himself: if I was 15 again knowing what I now know, what would I want to see and have access to? From that moment, the seed of his community building heart began to blossom. He started organizing programs and coordinating literary workshops for teens, the efforts of which eventually led to the creation of The Plug Poetry Project, an arts initiative whose goal is to honor and grow Chattanooga's poetry community by providing resources, classes, workshops, readings, and events. Christian's story is deeply inspiring, filled with creativity, compassion, and a commitment to serving others. In this episode Christian talks in depth about his process writing The Gleaming of the Blade, his latest poetry collection examining Black masculinity in the contemporary American South. He discusses the power of journaling, the importance of taking risks in your work, and how being creative also means being resourceful, playful, and generous. Link to full episode in bio. Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Hayden's Ferry Review, The Michigan Quarterly Review, Atlanta Review, Grist Journal, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2020 ProForma Contest and the 2019-2020 Seven Hills Review Poetry Contest. Christian's poems never shy away from interrogating harsh injustices and contending with the truth of today's America, a truth sometimes beautiful, sometimes biting Notes and Resources: http://www.christianjcollier.com/ Insta: @ichristian3030 Twitter: @IChristian3030 The Plug Poetry Project Mark Bradford This episode was edited and mixed by Chad Clarke, chadtheva@gmail.com

Today we're joined by poet Christian J. Collier (The Gleaming of the Blade)! Christian talks with us about the influence of art and horror films on his writing, moving away from overwriting, the shapes of his poems, using race as a way of looking at intimacy and society and humanity as a whole, monsters, ghosts, and more! Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade from Bull City Press. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in December, North American Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, The Michigan Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2022 Porch Prize in Poetry and the 2020 ProForma Contest from Grist Journal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his new collection of poetry “The Gleaming of the Blade,” Christian J. Collier examines his world through a cinematic lens. In one poem, he takes on the perspective of one of Jason's victims in Friday the 13th VIII. In another, he writes from the voice of The Candyman. They're engaging, subversive poems. But he's also revealing a deeper truth, the way that American society can turn Black men into villains. Into monsters. Throughout this collection, the Chattanooga-based poet examines the fine line between intimacy and violence, between love and hate, divisions wrought by skin color.This week on the Reckon Interview, we hear a few poems from Christian, learn about his life in Chattanooga and the artistic community he's helping to build there, and we discuss the deeper truths that he's unveiling in his work. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hi there, My name is Jaime and I interview creatives from all walks of life. Today I am over the moon to be arts calling Christian J. Collier! About Christian: “He's got a compelling voice, and he can electrify an audience.” -Michael Edward Miller, Host of Around & About Perhaps the best way to describe him is by what he doesn't do. Christian is a modern renaissance man (poet, musician, educator, event host, etc.) who has been called a street beatnik, the spoken-word rockstar, and an artist to watch among other (mostly positive) things. Regardless of the medium though, Christian's objective is the same: to genuinely impact and connect with each audience he's in front of. It is this mission statement that has motivated him to keep pushing himself to delve deeper as an artist, performer, and person. Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. He is the author of the chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade from Bull City Press. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in North American Review, Hayden's Ferry Review, The Michigan Quarterly Review, Atlanta Review, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2020 ProForma Contest and the 2019-2020 Seven Hills Review Poetry Contest. The Gleaming of the Blade now available through Bull City Press. Click to purchase! Christian's Website: http://www.christianjcollier.com/ For more interviews and content from Christian, check out his linktree: https://linktr.ee/ChristianJCollier Thank you so much for coming on the show, Christian! -- Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro at cruzfolio.com. If you like the show: consider reviewing the podcast and sharing it with those who love the arts, your support truly makes a difference! Check out cruzfolio.com for more podcasts about the arts and original content! Make art. Much love, j

Christian J. Collier shares poetry from his new collection "The Gleaming of the Blade" and shares details about his creative process which includes blowing apart early drafts of poems so they can be totally reformed. Learn even more about Christian on his website: http://www.christianjcollier.com/news Order a copy of The Gleaming of the Blade, here: https://bullcitypress.com/product/the-gleaming-of-the-blade-by-christian-j-collier/ SUBMIT TO THE OPEN MIC OF THE AIR! www.poetryspokenhere.com/open-mic-of-the-air Visit our website: www.poetryspokenhere.com Like us on facebook: facebook.com/PoetrySpokenHere Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/poseyspokenhere (@poseyspokenhere) Send us an e-mail: poetryspokenhere@gmail.com

Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2020 ProForma Contest and the 2019-2020 Seven Hills Review Poetry Contest. He is an accomplished artist, public speaker, and educator who has shared the stage with several members of HBO's Def Poetry cast, legendary poet and activist Ishmael Reed, Grammy-nominated artist Minton Sparks, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members The Impressions, etc. Mr. Collier has also given a TED Talk and been featured on an episode of TNT's State Farm Neighborhood Sessions.  Christian J. Collier's poems of witness have the kind of keen insight that slices to the heart of the subject. The Gleaming of the Blade examines Black masculinity in the contemporary American South, alongside the lingering ghosts of the past, and how it feels to be Black in a country whose divisions and struggles could signal the end of civilization. These poems never shy away, interrogating harsh injustices and contending with the truth of today's America, a truth sometimes beautiful, sometimes biting.

Read: Christian's poem "when my days fill with ghosts" at Hayden's Ferry Review, which Christian reads on the episode.Christian J. Collier is a Black, Southern writer, arts organizer, and teaching artist who resides in Chattanooga, TN. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Hayden's Ferry Review,The Michigan Quarterly Review, Atlanta Review, Grist Journal, and elsewhere. A 2015 Loft Spoken Word Immersion Fellow, he is also the winner of the 2020 ProForma Contest and the 2019-2020 Seven Hills Review Poetry Contest.Pre-order Christian's chapbook The Gleaming of the Blade (Bull City Press, 2022)

Imagine poetry among the sculptures outdoors. On Thursday at 7 PM, Christian J. Collier will share his poetry at Sculpture Fields here in Chattanooga - for the latest South Bound from Southern Lit Alliance.

Christian J. Collier created The Plug Poetry Project to honor and grow the poetry community here in Chattanooga. On Saturday at 7 PM, he will host a poetry virtual open mic on Facebook.