Filed under:
Alumna Aja Monet ’09 releases her debut album “When the Poems Do What They Do”, which speaks to the nuances of Black love, joy, and uncertainty. Described as a fluid mix of jazz and poetry, the album comes out on Friday, June 9, and evokes the spirit of 1990s spoken-word scenes. Monet, who is from East New York in Brooklyn, attended Sarah Lawrence from 2005-2009. During her freshman year she organized a poetry potluck to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. “I just remember feeling so powerless, away from the community of poets that I knew understood what that meant and what it felt like,” Monet recalled of her response to the storm. “It was just jarring to see Black people being killed literally by neglect of this country.”
Read the full review of her work in the New York Times.