IN-PERSON: Matthew E. Henry - "the Colored page"
Matthew E. Henry (aka MEH) joins us to discuss his new collection of poetry, the Colored page. This is a free event, however we ask that you RSVP with the link below (no fees). You can also RSVP by phone at 781-431-1160.
This event has ended.
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COVID Protocols
• Attendees must wear masks at all times during the event.
• Attendees must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination along with a picture I.D.
• Wearing a mask is not require while shopping in the store.
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ABOUT THE BOOK
This stunning new poetry collection by Matthew E. Henry (MEH), the Colored page, is a visceral meditation on the multi-layered experience of a Black body in educational spaces. Sprawling with metaphors and allusions to both the contemporary and the historic, Henry brings us an intense narrative chronicle of the speaker’s life as student, educator, and finally as a writer. At the center there is a reckoning with the racism written into the pages of America, and Henry leads us from the microaggressions of educational oversight, to the horror of blatant dehumanization. In pieces that directly call out those responsible—educators, institutions, and peers alike—the speaker moves via Henry’s generously vivid poems through open letters, vignettes, and poetic narratives that uncover the realities of an educator’s life’s work in the “United” States today. Here we see the impact of ferocious racism and its brutal cousin, weaponized incompetence. In a world that so often seeks to minimize Black experiences, the Colored page does not inflate, but neither does it look away. Yet, too, there is joy in these pages. Henry invites us to love, but please don’t touch, the beauty of Black hair, of Black lives, and of our Black students. For as much as he shines that telling Black light on the stains of the institutions he has spent his life within, Henry here evidences a life well-lived, a life spent studying, growing, and thriving despite the biased budgeting and the crude mishandling of student dignity. Henry asks us to look at the vile and call it out, but then we are tasked to shift our focus to the glory that is the student who triumphs. Henry invites us, ultimately, to a celebration.
"In a debut where no one is left unaddressed, Matthew E. Henry poetically investigates issues of the modern world including conversations with Marxists, ‘well actually’ guys, the odd questions from coworkers, and racism of all forms. This is a collection of advocacy where educators are seen and the thoughtless are forced to reflect. In the Colored page, MEH manages to capture all of our collective rage and grievances at a time where the world is ablaze." –Chris L. Butler, author of Sacrilegious: Poems & Prose
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MEH is the author of the Colored page (Sundress Publication, 2022), Teaching While Black (Main Street Rag, 2020), and Dust & Ashes (Californios Press, 2020). He is editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal. He’s been nominated and won some recognition for his poetry, but for some reason he continues to dabble in prose.
He received his MFA in poetry from Seattle Pacific University, yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing a MA in theology (Andover Newton Theological School) and a PhD in education (Lesley University). But he should not be confused with the long dead, white, theologian.
MEH is an educator whose career has found him teaching English, teacher education, philosophy, and sociology at the high school, college, and graduate levels. He will most likely die in a classroom. His writing shines a black-light on the bed of education, race, relationships, religion, and everything else you’re not supposed to discuss in polite company.
