Life & Arts

The Women of the World Poetry Slam is a yearly festival that brings together 72 of the world’s best female poets for workshops, open mics, parties, and of course a multi-day slam poetry competition. This year, for the first time, it’s happening in Austin.

Things will kick off at the Spiderhouse on Wednesday, March 19, with the Last Chance Slam, where poets who are not yet registered for Women of the World can vie for a slot in the competition. Bouts will continue at the Spiderhouse and Love Goat on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21; workshops and other events will also happen on those days. The festival will conclude with a championship bout at the Paramount Theater on Saturday, March 22.

South by Southwest Interactive is underway in Austin. This year, there’s a focus on the Latinos innovation in tech – a field where many Latinos face significant barriers. 

When SXSW Interactive kicked off on Friday, people began discussing where Latinos stand in the tech world. Geographically, at least, they haven’t been at the center of SXSW events: the so-called Latinos in Tech sessions took place at a Holiday Inn about a mile from the Austin Convention Center.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden will speak via videoconference to the attendees of South by Southwest Interactive later this morning, and you can bet a much wider audience than just those here in Austin will be watching.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Joann Tolbert-Yancy, President & CEO of Jotoski Human Resource Consulting Firm based in Dallas, TX. Her consulting firm specializes in employment law compliance, EEO litigation support, diversity training, and management/employee development.

Tolbert-Yancy has spent over 36 years as a human resource professional for major corporations and government agencies. She has always incorporated positive suggestions and applications to encourage people to better themselves and inspire others. Her personal experiences and philosophies have helped many create their own road map for success.

One of the largest gatherings of creative minds is happening right now in Austin, but how can you become a valuable part of that community without sucking the life out of it or annoying other people with your relentless self-promotion?

Don't be "human spam" or a "vampire." That's the advice of Austin Kleon, a local artist and writer whose book "Steal Like an Artist" spent six months on the New York Times best-seller list.

"There's basically the people who want to take all the inspiration, and then there's people who want to flood you with their own thing that they're shilling," he says.

C5 Texas is a 5-year leadership program for high-potential youth from low-income families.  We serve 300+ in north & central Texas, accepting 72 new youth each year.  Selection is based on performance, need, & readiness. 

The Mission

C5 changes the odds for high-performing youth from risk-filled environments, inspiring them to pursue personal success, and preparing them for leadership roles in college, work and their communities.  We encourage C5 youth to be Character-driven, Community-focused, Challenge-ready, College-bound and Committed to a better future.

The 

Update: South by Southwest announced this morning that Lady Gaga will perform at this year's festival. She's set to take the stage Thursday, March 13. The City of Austin had originally denied a request to have Lady Gaga perform, citing concerns that the Doritos venue wasn't big enough.

So, SXSW is moving that venue for one night to the Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater at Eighth and Red River streets.

Click here for details on how to get tickets.

Here's @SXSW's announcement on Twitter:

What's up, Little Monsters! Lady Gaga to perform on the @Doritos #BoldStage at #SXSW Thursday, March 13. http://t.co/Fz4V1tRiuj #sxswmusic

— SXSW (@sxsw) March 6, 2014

Original Story (Feb. 26, 2014): The city of Austin is denying a request to have Lady Gaga perform in a downtown parking lot during South by Southwest.

Edward Snowden will speak at South by Southwest Interactive via videoconference next week. The man who leaked details about the extent of National Security Agency surveillance is currently living in Russia under asylum.

If you don't have a badge, you can still hear Snowden on Monday at 11 a.m. because the Texas Tribune will be offering a free live stream of the session. Snowden will be interviewed by the American Civil Liberties Union's "principal technologist" Christopher Soghoian.

Elizabeth Chatelain graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Master’s degree from the Radio-Television-Film Department last May. In December, she won an International Documentary Association Award for her short film – "My Sister, Sarah."

The documentary follows Chatelain’s sister – Sarah – a recovering meth and crack addict who has felt true pain and tragedy. 

On Sharing her Family's Personal Story:

“I think when approaching documentary you don’t push the subjects or the interviewees past their limits, at least in this context I really didn’t want to do that. It’s kind of this fine line, and you feel that you can always cut things out or you can always make that decision later. So, for my family, really, I asked them difficult questions but I never felt like they didn’t want to answer it." 

Every year, more than 2,000 acts swarm to SXSW — and every year, NPR Music painstakingly handpicks 100 of the music festival's best discoveries for a downloadable six-hour sampler. We call it The Austin 100, and it's virtually guaranteed to contain something you'll love that you didn't know existed.

For the next 30 days, you can download The Austin 100 from this page — either song by song, or with one click, in its 839 MB entirety — as well as stream it as a continuous mix, both here and through NPR Music's various mobile apps.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Sheila Brooks, founder, president and CEO 
of SRB Communications. Brooks is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, entrepreneur and dedicated advocate for minority and women’s issues and small businesses.

SRB Communications is a full-service strategic communications agency and post-production facility located Washington, D.C. The company helps clients develop their brand, positioning and strategies in creative campaigns through integrated media formats in broadcast, print and multimedia. Brooks is an expert in entrepreneurial education and minority business issues. 

The tragicomedy The Whale won plenty of awards following its world premier in Denver in 2012. The play, by Samuel D. Hunter, centers around Charlie, who has been steadily eating himself into an early grave since the death of his boyfriend years earlier. Now close to 600 pounds and unwilling to seek medical help, Charlie looks for reconciliation with his long-lost daughter Ellie and understanding from his only friend, Liz.

It's a departure of sorts for  A Chick and A Dude, who are known for heavily-male casts, often featuring hitmen or other testosterone-heavy character types. This time out, director Melissa Livingston-Weaver actually has a cast with more women than men, which she admits makes a nice change of pace.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Sheila Brooks, founder, president and CEO 
of SRB Communications. Brooks is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, entrepreneur and dedicated advocate for minority and women’s issues and small businesses.

SRB Communications is a full-service strategic communications agency and post-production facility located Washington, D.C. The company helps clients develop their brand, positioning and strategies in creative campaigns through integrated media formats in broadcast, print and multimedia. Brooks is an expert in entrepreneurial education and minority business issues. 

The Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists is kind of a big deal. It's been called "the Olympics of violin," which is apt, as it's a worldwide competition that brings together the best young talent in its field.

The biennial event was founded by famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin in 1983, and in the three decades since,  it’s been held all over the world but never before in America. That changes this week, however, as the 2014 Menuhin Competition gets underway right here in Austin, hosted by UT’s Butler School of Music.

L.A.W. Lewd Asian Women, a new play from Lucky Chaos Theater Projects, opens on Febuary 28 at Salvage Vangaurd Theater. It's written and performed by Christine Hoang, Alice Liu Cook, Lilan Ren, and Leng Wong, who, with the exception of Wong, are all working lawyers in our community.

It’s based in part on the lives of Wong, Cook, and Hoang, three Asian women living in Austin today (Ren portrays the Voice of the Law), and inspired by an 1875 court case involving 22 Chinese immigrants. That case, Chy Lung v Freeman, began when 22 Chinese women were barred from entering San Francisco harbor after being declared "lewd and debauched" by the California commissioner of immigration. The evidence for their lewdness included the fact that they traveled without husbands or children and their flowery garments.

Little Red Chunari is a new play from Scottish Rite Community and Children’s Theater. It’s a family friendly Bollywood-style adaptation of the classic tale “Little Red Riding Hood,” written by Prentice Riddle and Susan Gayle Todd.

The story originated years ago, when Riddle was in the habit of telling his children (who are of Indian descent) stories to pass the time on car trips. He'd usually pick an existing story and change it up a little to give it more of an Indian flavor; that's why Little Red wears a chunari (a multi-purpose scarf worn in much of South Asia) rather than a riding hood.

Othello is the latest production by Austin Shakespeare. This version of the classic play is directed by artistic director Ann Ciccolella and stars veteran actor Marc Pouhé in the title role.

It's Pouhé's second time playing Othello in an Austin Shakespeare production. He first played the role in 2005; since then, he's gone through some life changes, not the least of which was a battle with kidney failure. He's healthy now, but the illness kept him off the stage for a few years. Now ready to continue his acting career, Pouhé is playing Othello again, a little older and with a different outlook on life.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with the late Alexander Murray Palmer Haley. Haley’s quest to learn more about his family history resulted in his writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Roots: The Sage of an American Family."

The book has been published in 37 languages, and was made into the first week-long television miniseries, viewed by an estimated 130 million people. "Roots" also generated widespread interest in genealogy.

The Kallison family name has resonated amongst Texans for generations.

It's the name of the department store in San Antonio crowned by a cowboy carrying a saddle on his right shoulder. It's also the of the Kallison Ranch, the place that brought Texas ranching into the 20th century.

"The Harness Maker’s Dream" recounts the story of Nathan Kallison, the Jewish Russian who escaped persecution and later became a successful rancher in Texas.