“Pass the P’s” (like we use to say) – A Celebration of 1960’s and 1970’s Sweet Soul in Poetry, Prose, and Performance, is a unique, improv-styled, creative writing workshop conceived and designed by Award-Winning artist and author, Nikki Williams. In an intimate, supportive, and fun-filled setting, join Williams as she guides you in creating literary works that pay homage to what some would consider the best era of R&B and Soul Music. We’ll be writing, sharing, and performing our own Soul Narratives – with a little finger-popping along the way! And as in the Black Tradition of Called-and-Response, Fred Wesley and the J.B.’s requested: “Pass the Peas like we use to say, Pass the Peas like we use to say, Pass the Peas like we use to say,“ we back shout, like James Brown did in funky reply: “Pass ‘em then!”

Artist Statement:
Well, when I was a kid in the 1960’s and 1970’s, dancing my butt off (obviously it came back), to James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, and ‘nem, the meaning of the music I was dancing to went no deeper than the socks that sunk down into my Pro-Ked Sneakers. So, who would have thought some fifty to sixty years later that the Soul and R&B music played “Black in the Day,” and Back in the Day, would have such a profound impact on our lives today. How could we have known that after over half a century later, those small 7 inch 45 records would hold a large and Joyful place in our hearts and collective memories? As DJ Brother Mister, the alter ego of eight-time GRAMMY® Awards-Winner, Mr. Christian McBride, has been quoted to say, “R&B, Soul, and Funk, is the ‘sweet spot’ of music between 1966 and 1987.” Just so you know, Mr. McBride also serves as co-Artistic Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. 

Nikki Williams has been leading “The Art of Flying” Creative Writing and Performance Workshop series for over thirty years. She is the author of several collections of poetry and four coffee table books containing her art and poetry. Williams’ last coffee table book is entitled, “I AM: How Beautiful – A Celebration in Photography in Collage of Black Men. Williams has been featured in Poets & Writers’ Magazine in print and online. Her books will be available for purchase at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem during her Artist Residency.