Jamaican Poet Staceyann Chin Performs in Nairobi Again
Though the Jamaican-born performer Staceyann Chin is to take the stage this Thursday, January 30, she is so much more than a performing artist. Chin is also an activist for LGBT rights, and often speaks about her experience growing up as a homosexual in Jamaica. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Pittsburgh Daily, as well as appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes interview series and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The Kenyan art collective, The NEST, will launch her performance on January 30th, 7:30 p.m. at the Southern Sun Hotel. She will be joined by Caine Prize Winner and Kwani? Founder, Binyavanga Wainaina. This is Chin’s second visit to Nairobi.
Staceyann Chin was born into poverty and abandoned by her parents. After moving to Brooklyn, New York, she found her niche in the city that never sleeps. Since 1997, her career ascended rapidly, finding herself on CNN and a published piece on immigration for The New York Times.
In 2005 she launched her Off Broadway autobiographical play, Border/Clash, in which The New York Times described Chin as “Sassy, rageful and sometimes softly self-mocking.”
She now declares her generation of biracial writers has not told enough stories. She lovingly teases all communities of people, from gay to straight, and from her Afro-Jamaican and Asian heritages. Her most recent published work was a piece titled “Authenticity” in an anthology called Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness.
Staceyann Chin is a poet who challenges her audience while pushing herself. Her profanity may not be for everyone, but anyone open to social activist causes will find her illuminating within the communities hidden from the spotlight.
This is UP Nairobi’s footage of her first performance in Nairobi (February 2013).
For more information on Chin’s performance on Jan 30th, at the Southern Sun Hotel, log onto: http://www.becauseartislife.org/blog/25/1/2014-staceyann-chin-a-night-of-performance
By Colin Smith.
