Kurt Boone riding his bicycle in New York City, reflecting the relationship between movement, messenger culture, and creative practice that runs throughout his work and archive.
Kurt Boone signs the acquisition agreement for the Kurt Boone Papers, formally marking the collection’s addition to the Cave Canem archives. The acquisition represents Cave Canem’s first archival collection from a poet who was not a Cave Canem Fellow, expanding the archive’s documentation of Black poetic and literary life beyond the organization’s fellowship community.
Kurt Boone with Lisa Willis, Executive Director of Cave Canem, marking the relationship between Boone’s collection and Cave Canem’s expanding archival program. Photography by Jes Neal.
Program for The Language of Experience: Celebrating Writers of Color, presented by PEN American Center’s Open Book Committee in celebration of the 2007 PEN/Beyond Margins Awards. Held at the Donnell Library Center in New York City, the program featured Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ernest Hardy, Harryette Mullen, and Alberto Ríos, and was hosted by Jaime Manrique and Sonia Sanchez.
Cover of Jupiter Invincible, an augmented-reality comic project with a story by poet Yusef Komunyakaa, art by Ashley A. Woods, and augmented reality by Ram Devineni. The project premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Festival.
2019 Poster for Black Poetry: A Conference at Princeton University, an intergenerational gathering of more than forty Black poets, including Elizabeth Alexander, Toi Derricotte, Rita Dove, Terrance Hayes, Tyehimba Jess, Yusef Komunyakaa, Haki Madhubuti, Saeed Jones, Sonia Sanchez, Natasha Trethewey, and Kevin Young.
2013 Program for “Nothing Personal: An Afternoon with the Dark Room Collective” at Poets House, featuring Tisa Bryant, Thomas Sayers Ellis, Major Jackson, John Keene, Janice Lowe, Tracy K. Smith, Sharan Strange, and Natasha Trethewey, with Rochelle Spencer moderating
Program from Cave Canem’s 2010 season, preserved among Kurt Boone’s papers as part of his collection of materials documenting Black poetry organizations, programs, and literary communities.
Program from Cave Canem’s Spring 2008 season, preserved among Kurt Boone’s papers. The program documents Boone’s engagement with Cave Canem and the broader community of Black poets, writers, and literary programming surrounding the organization.
Flyer for Cave Canem’s Fall 2006 workshop, “Ways of Seeing: Pushing the Boundaries,” led by poet Kate Rushin at Poets House in New York City. The eleven-week workshop offered African American writers an opportunity to explore experimentation, language, and poetic form
Promotional card for The Messenger Poet Show, featuring Kurt Boone as “The Bard of New York.” The card documents the presentation of Boone’s identity as both messenger and poet through a program centered on his life, writing, and relationship to New York City.
Promotional flyer for Kurt B. Boone’s debut poetry collection, Looking for Myself, featuring the book cover, descriptive text, biographical information about Boone, and an order form for purchasing the book from Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.
Cover of Kurt Boone’s Messenger Poet, illustrated by Greg Ugalde, bringing together Boone’s poetry and his experiences within New York City bicycle messenger culture.
Cover of Kurt Boone’s Asphalt Warrior: The Story of New York City’s Fastest Messenger, documenting his life and experiences as a bicycle messenger in New York City.
Kurt Boone standing beside a window in his Newark, New Jersey apartment, holding and looking at a copy of his book Looking for Myself. Framed against the light from the window, Boone appears in silhouette, connecting the writer and his work within the intimate space of his home. Photo courtesy of Cave Canem.
Kurt Boone reading outdoors in New York City, bringing together the city landscape and the literary practice that runs alongside his work as a bicycle messenger Photograph by Raymond Adams.
