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As poet J. Mase III went into his favorite poem, “Zone of Rarity,” he asked his Zoom audience to collaborate with him by doing a call and response.

“When I say ‘story time,’ you say ‘story time,’” he said.

“Story time,” some audience members wrote in the chat.

“When I say ‘true story,’ you say ‘true story,’” he said.

“True story,” some wrote again.

Then, he dove into the piece. Besides “Zone of Rarity” — a poem about white supremacy and transphobia — Mase read other past works during a Zoom call with fellow poet Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi on Saturday night. The virtual event was one of several that Syracuse University’s LGBTQ Resource Center hosted for this year’s Transgender Week of Liberation. The two held a workshop on Wednesday, too.

Edidi and Mase, who are both transgender, met each other years ago at Capturing Fire, an international poetry festival in Washington, D.C. Years later, the two collaborated as co-editors on “The Black Trans Prayer Book,” a collection of work by Black transgender and nonbinary people.

The two poets performed for the bulk of Saturday evening, but they also participated in a Q&A portion led by graduate student Sarah Wood.

During the Q&A, the two reflected on their mentors. Mase said a friend who ran Capturing Fire helped him gain the confidence to become a full-time poet. For Edidi, her mom and aunt were some of her first artistic mentors, along with singers Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone.

“I love me some Aretha Franklin,” Edidi said. “Ancestors who have passed on … who were very, very clear about their Blackness and also their right to a life that was free from oppression.”

Throughout the night, the two poets performed and bonded over their past works, which touched on topics such as being transgender, religion and grief. Before Mase read his second poem, “Josephine,” he asked the audience if they grew up in religious households.

Mase and Edidi connected over their Muslim and Christian families, which led to Mase describing the two different reactions he got from his family once he came out. While his Muslim relatives on his father’s side were accepting of his new pronouns and name, he received push back from his Christian relatives on his mother’s side.

His reflection on faith would eventually lead him to write “Josephine,” a nod to the Broadway show “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and the Bible story.

“I believe that if you have not heard of the Quran or the Bible, you have heard of Broadway,” Mase said. “Let me know in the chat.”

Mase also reflected on losing his father — his best friend — in the poem “April Fools.” While grieving his father’s death around 10 years ago, a friend approached Mase and said, “You’re going to get such great art out of this.” He wrote “April Fools” as a sarcastic response.

Afterwards, Edidi performed her poem “I Just Drank Something Sweet.” Edidi felt guilty about receiving good news in June 2020, which was during a time of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. She wrote the poem after getting advice about her guilt.

Edidi’s final performance, her piece “A Trans Woman Speaks of America,” was a mixture of poetry and singing. The poet started the piece with a rendition of “America The Beautiful,” and wove in a poetry verse right after. Edidi ended the piece with her fist raised up, singing “We Shall Overcome.”

“I could literally hear (that) every single day of my life,” Mase said afterward.

Published on April 4, 2021 at 12:34 am

Contact Christopher: [email protected] | @chrisscargs