Furious Flower Poetry Center Conference Records, 1970-2015 *JMU Records*

Arranged alphabetically with the exception of the Exhibit of Participants materials and the magnesium letterpress die plates which are located at the end of the series due to their size. Note that the numbering system for the letterpress die plates is sequential based on each poem's order in the publication Furious Flower: A Revolution in African American Poetry. As such the first folder/four-flap enclosure in box nine is labeled 9:21b. This is the plate for page two of the 21st poem in the publication. Materials in this series primarily document the planning and implementation of the 1994 Furious Flower Poetry Conference: A Revolution in African American Poetry. Records include travel and lodging reservations, correspondence with participating poets, financial documentation and budgets, and mailing lists. Marketing and promotional items such as posters and brochures are included. Conference evaluations completed by attendees and folders labeled "Positive Responses" document the overwhelming success of the conference. Of particular interest are exhibit components from the 1994 conference that include text labels and images of each participating poet. The photographs for these panels were taken by C. B. Claiborne. Copy 225 of 300 of Furious Flower: A Revolution in African American Poetry is located in box 2, folder 5. The magnesium letterpress die plates used to print this collection of poetry are also included here. Each plate is individually housed in a four-flap enclosure and then boxed in order of appearance in the publication.

Arranged alphabetically.

Materials in this series primarily document the planning and implementation of the 2004 Furious Flower Poetry Conference: Regenerating the Black Poetic Tradition. Records include travel and lodging reservations, correspondence with participating poets, financial documentation and budgets, and mailing lists. Marketing and promotional items such as posters and brochures are included. During the 2004 conference, notable African American scholars including Tony Bolden, Hilary Holladay, and Monifa Love conducted interviews with presenting conference poets including Houston Baker, Rita Dove, and Tony Medina. The corresponding transcripts are included and are particularly significant to African American poetry scholarship. Of particular interest is congratulatory correspondence and RSVP regrets for the 2004 conference from Julian Bond, Governor Mark Warner, Senator George Allen, the office of President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry, President and CEO of the NAACP Kweisi Mfume, and many others. Some of these letters were printed in the official conference program. Also of interest are evaluations completed by conference attendees. Five silk banners used to decorate the Wilson Hall auditorium during the conference are included in this series. The banners are rolled onto dowels and housed in a rolled storage container. Currently, the silk banners may only be requested (in writing) by Furious Flower Poetry Center staff.

No particular arrangement.

All media is in the process of being digitized as of August 2016. Access to content will be made available once digitization is complete, barring any copyright or other use restrictions.

Arranged by size.

The Oversize series consists of one oversize box and two oversize folders – one smaller than the other. The larger oversize folder contains conference posters separated from their intellectual arrangement within the existing series due to their common size and includes a separate set of posters donated in a cardboard tube. The smaller oversize folder, comprised of photographs and separated from Series 2, 2004 Conference, Box 11: Folder 13), is housed physically within the larger oversize folder; both are housed in Map Case 1:3. The photographs are foldered separately due to their size and inherent preservation needs of the material. The rolled storage container contains the five silk banners used in the 2004 and 2014 Furious Flower Poetry Conference. Currently, the silk banners may only be requested (in writing) by Furious Flower Poetry Center staff.