Poetry / Performance
Donte Collins is a neurodivergent afro-surrealist blues poet, playwright, and movement artist named the Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate of Saint Paul, Minnesota. A 2023-25 Jerome Hill Artist fellowship for theatre, spoken word and performance, Donte believes poems allow us to wander back to ourselves, to meet ourselves anew. Their work harbors the question, “how does it feel?” as opposed to, “what does it mean?” Their 2017 poetry collection “Autopsy” (Button Poetry) was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.
During their residency, Donte worked on a choreopoem entitled “Mercy.” Blending poetry and movement, verbal and non-verbal communication, the piece is about home and children’s need for a safe space to call their own and return to. Donte is offering a reading, performance and Q&A in the Tower View Barn.