Harlem's No. 1 Guy

We know the Beat Generation, the Lost Generation and even the Transcendentalists. Modernism and Dada--also touched on. Maybe it's just us, or maybe it was Texas lesson plans, but we didn't get to learn too much about one of the most exciting and inspiring artistic movements in American history: The...

By Merritt Martin

April 30, 2009

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We know the Beat Generation, the Lost Generation and even the Transcendentalists. Modernism and Dada--also touched on. Maybe it's just us, or maybe it was Texas lesson plans, but we didn't get to learn too much about one of the most exciting and inspiring artistic movements in American history: The Harlem Renaissance. Textbooks called up Langston Hughes or Zora Neale Hurston, but oh, we'd find, there's so much more. And someone wants to tell us all about it: Actress Jasmine Guy (yes, that Jasmine Guy) and the Avery Sharpe Trio are here for just two performances of Raisin' Cane, a combination of readings of literary works (from the likes of Hughes, Hurston, namesake Cane novelist Jean Toomer, Gwendolyn Bennett, W.E. Dubois and other legends), theater, music and art that pays homage to the Harlem Renaissance. Let Raisin' Cane take you further than history books 8 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday as part of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters' Dress Performance Theatre Series at the Clarence Muse CafÃ© Theatre in the Dallas Convention Center Theater Complex, Canton and Akard streets. Tickets are $15. Call 214-743-2400 or visit tbaal.org.
Fri., May 1, 8 p.m.; Sat., May 2, 3 p.m., 2009

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Merritt Martin has written for the Dallas Observer for over two decades. She has also contributed to Eater, DMN and USA Today. In addition to arts and culture writing, she spends entirely too much time extolling the virtues of pears, black clothing, and her cat Kenneth.

Contact: Merritt Martin

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