Line Breaks, founded in 2002 by poet and visual artist Thandiwe Shiphrah, is one of Nashville's oldest community-based poetry series, dedicated to fostering community by building bridges of understanding between people of diverse cultures and featuring many local, regional and national poets of color. Line Breaks supports both emerging and renowned poets and has provided Nashville audiences with exception opportunities to engage with their work. To learn more about our Line Breaks Literary Reading Series, check out this video, A Portrait of Line Breaks, created by Thandiwe Shiphrah and Daniel Arite. 

What's coming in 2024-2025?

PAST AUTHORS FROM 2022

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All programs, including Line Breaks, of the Global Education Center are made possible with support from the Metro-Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.

Visiting Poets & Storytellers since Line Breaks began    Local Poets, Authors & Storytellers since Line Breaks began

Keisha Gaye Anderson                                                                       Thandiwe Shiphrah
Jimmy Santiago Baca                                                                         Patricia Albrecht
Maria Baca                                                                                           Destiny Birdsong
Jericho Brown                                                                                      Albert Bender
Michelle Chan Brown                                                                          Bill Brown
Rafael Campo                                                                                       Dr. Harriet Bias-Insignares
Xanath Caraza                                                                                      Kendra DeColo
Cathy Linh Che                                                                                     Kate Daniels
Patricia Davis                                                                                       Lisa Dordal
Nikky Finney                                                                                        Peg DuthieB
Brian Gilmore                                                                                       Blas Falconer
Jaki Shelton Green                                                                              Kelly Falzone
Joy Harjo                                                                                               James Floyd
Ice Gayle Johnson                                                                               Kana Gaines
Marilyn Kallet                                                                                       Jeimy Givens
Kurt Lamkin                                                                                          Melissa Gordon
Li-Young Lee                                                                                         Major Jackson
Luana                                                                                                     Henry Jones
Haki Madhubuti                                                                                    Carol Juranko
Sally Wen Mao                                                                                       Susannah Kwan
E. Ethelbert Miller                                                                                 Michael "Diallo" McLendon
Rajiv Mohabir                                                                                       Diana Morningstar
Davis Mura                                                                                            Kalei Mugilan
Jane Omerod                                                                                         Sela Pearson
Kana Owoyemi                                                                                      Stephanie Pruitt
Naoko Ozaki                                                                                          N. Scott Reynolds
Alex Pate                                                                                                Karen Roberts
Alicia Portnoy                                                                                        Lauren Rooker
Socorro Romo                                                                                        Freya Sachs                   
Sonia Sanchez                                                                                       Karen Szabo
Laura Secord                                                                                          Tamarind Jam (Alita Terry & Kana Kavon)
Matthew Shenoda                                                                                 Tasneem Grace Tewogbola
Claudia Savage                                                                                      Graceful Soul Storyweavers (Tasneem and Jack e Grace)
Frank X Walker                                                                                      Konnetta Alexander