The Mark Allen Everett Poetry Series - Language Lives

Serving the communities of OU and central Oklahoma, the Mark Allen Everett Poetry Series (MAEPS) strives to connect readers to contemporary poetry and poetics by giving students and residents alike an opportunity to listen to and speak with poets from all over the United States and beyond.

Take part in an impactful evening on April 19, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, as MAEPS proudly hosts at The Jacobson House Native Art Center! Featuring Native writers, Lance Henson (Cheyenne) and Sy Hoahwah (Comanche) as they share their captivating original works. Following their inspiring readings, join us for an open mic night, inviting students and residents to share their own voices and stories, celebrating the profound impact of words!

This event is free and open to the public!

About the Speakers:

Lance Henson is a poet of the Cheyenne, suhtaio, nation of Oklahoma, a dog soldier headman, sundancer, and member of the Native American church. an ex-marine and retired mixed martial artist, he is the author of 48 volumes of poetry translated into 25 languages. he is a cultural activist and visiting professor at udine university, the university of rimini, and the university of bologna, Italy where he resides.

Sy Hoahwah is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma. He is of the Yaparʉhka and Kwaarʉ Nʉʉ bands, and as well as of Cheyenne-Arapaho descent. Hoahwah is a renowned poet, visual artist, teacher, and mentor.

He is known to be the inventor of the Comanche Gothic genre referring to his recent poetry collection, Ancestral Demon of the Grieving Bride (2021) and his classic poems from, Velroy and Madischie Mafia (2007). One can also find his poems in several anthologies like the ground-breaking, New Poets of Native Nations (2018).

In 2013, Hoahwah received a literary fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2013. He holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arkansas.