Punany Poets: Deeper than sex and twice the fun
by Candace Y. A. Montague
Examiner.com (7/2009)

It was a full house on Half Street in DC last Friday. The Punany Poets were at The Crucible Club for one night only to perform their poems and teach lessons about love, sex, and keeping the passion alive in a relationship. The Punany Poets began as a project in 1995 after the death of rapper Eazy E. He died from complications due to AIDS which prompted a whirlwind of discussion about safe sex practices and the importance of knowing your status within the African-American Community. Founder Jessica Holter, a native of Oakland California, took action in the form of poetry. "When the project began in 1995, only 10% of AIDS cases were among heterosexual people... today we are 90%. Our silence and radical religious theories about sexuality is killing the African American at a faster rate than gunfire, crack and pork, yet we seem obsessed with the belief that if we hide behind puritanical faith, while still engaging in worldly behavior, God will spare us" says Holter on the Punany Poets website.

Local radio news reporter Harold Fisher from 96.3 WHUR was the special guest host. Mr. Fisher, host of the Daily Drum, read an excerpt from his own romance novel entitled Two Weeks Until the Rest of My Life written under the name Rosefogg. The pieces performed by the poets were filled with humor, explicit descriptions, and street anecdotes. The poets (Jessica, Honey Taylor, and Slam) performed their pieces with the help of volunteer audience members. There was a blend of poems, demonstrations, and audience feedback throughout the evening. The audience was a mix of curious first timers as well as devoted fans that travel quite a distance to catch their act. Other special guests on hand were Zane of the Zane Sex Chronicles and Jamie Foster Brown of Sister to Sister Magazine.

The Punany Poets have a partnership with AFACTA (Artists Fighting AIDS Creatively Through the Arts). The Poets have designed t-shirts and posted public services announcements on their websites to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic in the African-American community. A portion of the money raised from their tour will be donated to AFACTA for C.O.V.E (Collective Oratory Voices for Excellence), a project that introduces youth ages 14 to 16 to creative writing.

If you would like more information on dates for upcoming shows or how you can become involved go to www.punanyplayhouse.com or www.afacta.org.

Get tested. Get care. Get a condom.h
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