Legacy Leonard

Artist Bio “A pen and a prayer is my salvation”, Legacy Leonard affirms of her burning need to create and inspire. Ever since her childhood years Legacy has been enthralled with the art of written word. First published at the age of 13 in an anthology entitled Master Mixx, and making her spoken word debut at 15 at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1995 she has shown a commanding ability to elevate and educate through poetry. Through arts and activism Legacy spreads her messages of self love,...

Artist Bio “A pen and a prayer is my salvation”, Legacy Leonard affirms of her burning need to create and inspire. Ever since her childhood years Legacy has been enthralled with the art of written word. First published at the age of 13 in an anthology entitled Master Mixx, and making her spoken word debut at 15 at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1995 she has shown a commanding ability to elevate and educate through poetry. Through arts and activism Legacy spreads her messages of self love, consciousness, community, upliftment and change with passion and power. It was in 1997 after completing an internship at the Detroit Free Press that Legacy embarked upon the beginning of her performance career at the locally legendary Cafe Mahogany. In May 2001 she joined Black Ink Collective, and has honed her skills and commanded the attention of audiences in the Metro Detroit area and across the country at colleges, universities, festivals and numerous events from. She has graced the stages of venues from California’s University of Santa Barbara to New York’s Bowery Poetry Club. She has shared stages with poetical icons The Last Poets, Amiri Baraka, Jessica Care Moore and countless others. She has been interviewed on radio stations WHPR 88 FM (Highland Park), WGPR 107.5 FM (Detroit) and WMXD 92.3 FM and has appeared on the local talk shows "Homegrown Detroit" and "Poetic Flow", Television 68. She has appeared in the documentaries “Detroit Poets Against The War” (2003) and the internationally acclaimed “Shrinking Cities” (2004). Her literary work has been featured in Stanford University’s Black Arts Quarterly, The Wordsmith Press’s anthology Estrology and The Bandana Republic Anthology edited by Louis Reyes Rivera and Bruce George. She pursues and polishes her craft as a writer and performer at workshops and venues. Legacy is currently working on her first book of poetry, Babylon Batafurai. Once a former gang member, Legacy now spends much of her time contributing to community activism and empowerment. She continues to support various causes, and organizing and coordinating community events. “The power belongs to the people, and only through positive investment can we counteract the negativity that destroys our people and our communities. It is so important to utilize the arts as a vehicle of positive and progressive change” She travels around the country with Hip-Poe-Tics, a lecture and performance activism series, which teaches college and university students how to target issues, organize and use art to aspire to activism. As a member of the Strange Fruits, a collective of 8 women artists from across the country, she works in collaboration with the Strange Fruit non-profit program that caters to girls between the ages of 8-18, conducting writers workshops, offering counseling and self esteem building. She is also a member of the activist performance collectives Progressive Artists for The Millions More Movement (PAMMM), Pitch Black Poetry Collective, and Deph-Onyx. To witness a living testament to the power and peace of spoken word, you must experience Legacy Leonard in the flesh. “The universe was spoken into existence through words, and through the word we can change our lives and the world.” Publications Anthologies: Estrology (Wordsmith Press, 2008), The Bandana Republic: A Literary Anthology by Gang Members and Their Affiliates (Soft Skull Press, 2008) Journals: Black Arts Quarterly Performances (extended list unpon request): Poetry of the Harlem Renaissance - Westland Public Library (2010), Fashion Evolution & Black Revolution - Wayne State University (2009), Voices for Gaza - D.C. (2009), African World Festival (2008). Gaming of the Shrew w/Jessica Care Moore (2008), Bowery Poetry Club (2007), Cornell University (2007), Eastern Michigan University (2007), Hip-Poe-Tics Lecture and Poetry Series - University of California, Santa Barbara (2007), The Essence of Motown Literary Jam - The Charles H. Wright African American History Museum (2007), The Evening Coffee House, Marygrove College (2007), Northwest Missouri State University (2006), Over the Counter/Under the Skin, University of Michigan - Dearborn (2006), Max Fisher Theater - Detroit, MI