Pertaining
16 SUMMER 2021 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
to Poetry:
An
INTERVIEW
with ALI BLACK
@ Shaker Library
Shaker Library’s Community
Engagement Specialist Ali
Black has been teaching,
writing, and performing poetry for
more than 20 years. She is currently
working on her MFA in poetry
from the Northeast Ohio Master
of Fine Arts program (NEOMFA)
and is the creative writing special
projects assistant at Cleveland State
University’s Poetry Center. Ali has
taught and performed her poetry at
Playhouse Square, MOCA Cleveland,
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the
Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention
Center, and a variety of schools
throughout Northeast Ohio. Her work
has appeared in publications such
as december, The Rumpus, jubilat,
LitHub, The Offing, and elsewhere.
In December 2020, her first book
of poetry, If It Heals At All, was
published by Jacar Press. It has
been named a finalist in the 2021
Ohioana Book Awards for poetry.
Photo:
Donald Black, Jr.
/WWW.SHAKER.LIFE