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| Gender: Female | ||
| Member Since: 1/28/2003 | ||
| Location: Detroit, MI | ||
| Chantay Leonard is a community based poet and activist , and a former member and assistant manager of Black Ink Collective. Chantay was first published at the age of 13 years old in theme books for the Detroit Summer Youth Arts Employment Program (1993-1995) under the tutelage of Stella Crews of Broadside Press and Kaleemah Hassan . She has also trained with Dr. Terry Blackhawk and Dawn MacDuffie. Her works have appeared in high school literary magazines Style! and Passages II, theme books for the Detroit Institute of Arts, Black Ink Volume 1 and other national anthologies. A former member of Adolescent Alternatives, a church based youth community activist group, she has co-authored and appeared in two plays “A Cry Out 4 Help” and “Double Jeopardy”. In 1997 after completing an internship at the Detroit Free Press Chantay embarked upon the beginning of her performance career at Caf?ahogany. In May 2001 she joined Black Ink Collective, and has been featured at the Key Club, The Detroit Writer’s Guild 300 All Star Poetry Jam, The Taste Festival, The Camillian, The Literary Caf?at the University of Detroit Mercy, The Wayne State University Java Jam Series, Politics Meets Poetry for Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, a gospel event for Councilwomen Brenda Scott, Black Ink’s “Words Unravel’, The Comerica Java Jazz Series, the Lit Festival, Black Cinema Cafe and other events in the community and Metro Detroit areas. She has shared stages with poetical icons such as Jessica "care" Moore, The Last Poets, Khary Kimani Turner, and more. Her poetry has also been featured in two Internet magazines Black Gurrl Poetry and Fresh Angles. She continues to pursue and polish her craft as a writer and performer at local workshops and venues such as The Camillian Caf?Pitch Black Poetry, 736 Java, and The Gallery. Chantay is currently working on her first book, “I Have Come Forth By Day”, and CD set to debut in 2003. |