Acclaimed Jacksonville Spoken Word Artist Tells Her Truths
Submitted by Kay Renz
In celebration of National Poetry Month, Pompano Beach Cultural Center is proud to present the one-woman show On Purpose, created and performed by renowned poet Ebony Payne-English. Onstage, she paints a vivid picture of femininity at the peak of its strength and in the pit of its vulnerability in the face of an HIV diagnosis. Told from the diverse perspectives of seven women, she weaves poems, monologue, song, rhyme, and colorful vernacular into an exceptional coming of age story. The performance is on Thursday April 21, 2022, at 7pm. Tickets are $25. For more information, www.pompanobeacharts.org
“Payne-English’s work is a raw and provocative take on fear, honesty, and success,” said Phyllis Korab, Cultural Affairs Director. “We invite you to witness her strength and amazing artistry in a live-theater setting.”
Payne-English is an author, performer, playwright, and educator from Duval County, FL. Having authored a graphic novel, The Random Happenings, as well as an award-winning poetry collection, Secrets of Ma’at, Payne English has been featured in The Florida Times Union, PBS’s Hometown, Derniere Vie Magazine, WJCT’s First Coast Connect, and My Black Matters. She has performed her work at The New Orleans House of Blues, Essence Festival, Nuyorican Café, Crossroads Theatre, TEDx, and Jax by Jax, as well as countless colleges, universities, and entertainment venues nationwide. Her discography includes six albums.
Payne-English is the first woman to establish her own chapter of the international poetry organization Black on Black Rhyme. She is the 2017 Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville’s Emerging Artist and the recipient of the Spoken Word Gala’s 2017 William Bell Humanitarian Award. Ebony currently serves as Executive Director of The Performers Academy, a 501c3 arts education organization in Jacksonville, FL and is a founding member of the Board of Directors of Southern Fried Poetry, Inc. which produces the largest adult regional poetry slam in the nation.
Pompano Beach Cultural Center is located at 50 West Atlantic Boulevard, Pompano Beach.
About the City of Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department
The mission of the Cultural Affairs Department is to provide cultural programming that includes visual arts, digital media, music, film, theater, dance and public art for the enjoyment and enrichment of residents and visitors to Pompano Beach, Broward County, and the greater South Florida area. The department programs and manages the City’s premiere cultural arts venues, including the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, Ali Cultural Arts Center, Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, and the Blanche Ely House Museum. The department also oversees the City’s Public Art Program and the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town grant awarded to the Pompano Beach Crossroads place-making arts initiative.
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