Olio Live / Tyehimba Jess

The word "olio" means a hodgepodge, or a miscellaneous collection of literary or musical selections. In Olio Live - a very special one-night performance recorded live at the Minetta Lane Theater in February 2019 - poet Tyehimba Jess introduces listeners to his 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection Olio. 

He is joined on stage by writer, editor, and Literaryswag founder Yahdon Israel, as well as a stellar cast of actors interpreting a selection of the poems from the collection. You'll meet William "Blind" Boone, Sissieretta Jones, and a host of other characters, all based on real historical figures from the ragtime scene at the turn of the 20th century. As you listen, Jess's poetry asks you to consider the nature of identity, performance, and ever-present history. 

Tyehimba Jess is the author of two books of poetry, Leadbelly and Olio. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Olio won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, The Midland Society Author's Award in Poetry, and received an Outstanding Contribution to Publishing Citation from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  

Yahdon Israel is a writer, editor, and creator of Literaryswag. He has written for Avidly, The New Inquiry, Brooklyn Magazine, LitHub, and Poets and Writers. He is the host of the Literaryswag Book Club, and the host of LIT, a weekly web series about books and culture. 

Cast 

Interlocutor Tyehimba Jess
Eliza Bethune / Mark Twain Piper Goodeve
Charity Wiggins / Eva Shoe Jaylene Clark Owens
Blind Tom David Pegram
Blind Boone Esau Pritchett
Interviewer Yahdon Israel
Sissieretta Jones Kayla White
Pianist Jeremy Gill   

Cover art photo by Rog and Bee Walker