ONLINE: Matthew Charles

press release: A Room of One's Own presents an evening of poetry and conversation with Matthew Charles, author of the new collection You Can Not Burn the Sun, and Charles Edward Payne!

Matthew Charles has been a poet since childhood, he’s the host of the “little did u know” podcast, which centers the lived experiences, learned, and inherited wisdom of transracial adoptees, and his debut poetry collection “You Can Not Burn The Sun” was published in 2020 and chronicles his body-present engagement in the Uprisings. His work often sits at intersections of race, adoption, mysticism, and trying to cope under the capitalist superstructures we all are actively oppressed by.  For fun, these days, he plays Pokémon Shining Pearl and is actively looking for someone to trade with so he can get a Dusknoir. 

You Can Not Burn the Sun is a collection of poems about the uprisings of summer 2019 and 2020 against white supremacist police violence and brutality. Matthew is a transracially adopted black man. As a child, Matthew experienced life as if a veil covered his eyes. With such limited perspective life seemed to be quite black and white, but now as an adult, he understands that his existence was and is neither black nor white. His artwork is devoted to the exploration of the nuances of Revolution. This concept finds it’s home at the intersection of blackness and Christian mysticism- both aimed at dismantling power structures. Both longing to cultivate love within and without. As an experienced teacher, Matthew provides a broader perspective because he has taught internationally in countries like South Africa, Tanzania, and Germany. His workshops create brave spaces for his pupils to be unlimited by hate. In addition to being an educator, Matthew is an activist, artist, and mystic, whose pursuits center around his own learning of LOVE as justice and mercy.

Charles Payne won Arts + Literature Laboratory’s inaugural ALL Originals Prize for his poems "Dead End" and "Dinner with a Pig." This was his first national publication. Charles Payne is a Madison transplant, a certified teacher, and a self-taught social artist from Michigan. As a child, he loved hearing the sound of Paul Harvey's voice, their innate ability to describe every intricate detail truly inspired Charles to tell stories himself. And, yes, Charles can't wait to give you the rest of the story.