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COCA Spotlight: Author and teacher Ravi Howard chimes in with Poets for Change

Author Ravi Howard works well under a tight deadline. The urgency is something he learned to harness during his time as a writer for network television, which earned him a Sports Emmy for his work…

Author Ravi Howard works well under a tight deadline. The urgency is something he learned to harness during his time as a writer for network television, which earned him a Sports Emmy for his work on HBO’s “Inside the NFL.” Two published books later, he continues “crafting towards a deadline,” where time constraints shape his work.

Currently, he is in the thick of writing a short fiction work he’ll share at the 100 Thousand Poets for Change Global Reading on Saturday, Sept. 26. Howard is one among many local Tallahassee poets and writers, as well as international participants, to celebrate 10 years of sharing writing for world peace, justice and sustainability.

The event was founded by Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrion to promote empowerment through global solidarity and is celebrating its tenth anniversary this fall. “Even though I’m not a poet, I will share something that will capture a scene that is in the same rhythm or time of poem,” says Howard. “It’s a good way for a community to connect people who are here in various professional, civic and activist roles and put them together and share work.”

Howard teaches on faculty in Florida State University’s English Department. He follows in his parents’ footsteps as both were professors at Jackson State University. Howard grew up with their dissertations within reach on the bookshelf. He also was influenced by the works of author and professor Dr. Margaret Walker Alexander, who established the Institute for the Study of the History, Life and Culture of Black People at the university and worked with his parents during their tenure.

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