Poetry that you can dance to
Thandiwe Shiphrah is known for rhythmic poetry recitations that reconnect words to their sonic roots and fully employ their capacity to awaken, galvanize, and inspire. Originally from Washington, DC and currently based in Nashville, TN, she creates solo theater works, collaborative stage projects, and spoken word and music recordings for adults and youth. Thandiwe frequently performs with her husband and long-time collaborator, musician/composer Daniel Arite, in a duo called The Bosch Institute. Together they have co-produced two poetry and music CDs, The Secret Marvelous Instead (2002) and Biting the Peony (2009). Their concerts feature dynamic oratory, illuminating poetry, and music made from traditional instruments and unconventional devices chosen for their unusual sound possibilities.
Thandiwe’s projects, workshops, and performance-lectures have been presented in venues around the country and she has been a guest of numerous arts presenters and universities, including Vanderbilt University, Portland State University, Fisk University, and the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Her poetry has appeared in Essence Magazine, Wild Heart Journal: Art, Creativity, and Spiritual Life and Pudding Magazine: The International Journal of Applied Poetry. Several journals and anthologies contain her work, including Beyond the Frontier: African-American Poetry for the 21st Century (Black Classics Press), and Fast Talk, Full Volume: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Poetry (Gut Punch Press).
For more than two decades, Thandiwe has been passionately exploring the link between the arts, personal life enrichment, and healthy community development, often focusing on cross-cultural communication, women's empowerment, youth development, and social inclusion of marginalized groups. She continues to investigate poetry’s role in human creativity and its capacity to drive social change. In 2011, she joined an international roster of artists recognized by the Jubilation Foundation for outstanding teaching artistry. For more information about her community arts activism, click here.
Thandiwe’s projects, workshops, and performance-lectures have been presented in venues around the country and she has been a guest of numerous arts presenters and universities, including Vanderbilt University, Portland State University, Fisk University, and the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. Her poetry has appeared in Essence Magazine, Wild Heart Journal: Art, Creativity, and Spiritual Life and Pudding Magazine: The International Journal of Applied Poetry. Several journals and anthologies contain her work, including Beyond the Frontier: African-American Poetry for the 21st Century (Black Classics Press), and Fast Talk, Full Volume: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Poetry (Gut Punch Press).
For more than two decades, Thandiwe has been passionately exploring the link between the arts, personal life enrichment, and healthy community development, often focusing on cross-cultural communication, women's empowerment, youth development, and social inclusion of marginalized groups. She continues to investigate poetry’s role in human creativity and its capacity to drive social change. In 2011, she joined an international roster of artists recognized by the Jubilation Foundation for outstanding teaching artistry. For more information about her community arts activism, click here.
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