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The Arts Intel Report

Essex Hemphill: Take Care of Your Blessings

1600 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20009

Born in 1957, Essex Hemphill started writing poetry young. It was the early 1970s in Chicago, he was 14, and in a worn journal he recorded his musings on family life and his emerging gay sexuality. In 1975, with an English degree from the University of the District of Columbia, Hemphill co-founded the Nethula Journal of Contemporary Literature, a magazine showcasing work by Black artists. He began to publish: Earth Life in 1985, Conditions in 1986. And then came AIDS, catching Hemphill in its net. In the poem “American Wedding” (1992), he wrote: “What the rose whispers / before blooming / I vow to you.” This exhibition presents work by artists who have drawn inspiration from Hemphill, who died in 1995. —Elena Clavarino