InArkansas.com

The Arkansas Arts Center will present the second annual Ekphrastic Poetry Slam at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25.

Ekphrastic describes something that is inspired by an art object. In the Ekphrastic Poetry Slam, all performances will be inspired by a work of art from the Arkansas Arts Center Collection.

Feature poets include Amoja “MoMan” Sumler and Clayton Scott. Lennon Simpson will be the emcee.

MoMan has been actively involved in the slam poetry scene for 25 years. He is the founder and president of Poets in the Streets, Inc., a non-profit literacy organization based in Little Rock, Ark. MoMan also serves as the slam master for the Rock Town Slam, the longest running slam in Central Arkansas.

Clayton Scott is the Poet Laureate of Fayetteville. He represented Arkansas in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 National Poetry Slams. In 2001, he ranked in the top 10 percent of slam poets in the world. In 2005, Scott reigned as Arkansas’ Grand Slam Champion in a regional slam featuring poets from Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas.

Lennon Simpson is a nationally touring poet from Conway. A graduate of Hendrix College, Simpson was captain of the Hendrix Slam team and represented Arkansas at regional contests as one of the state’s top college poets. He has since found himself being invited to share his work with audiences across the country. He also spends time developing new poetry scenes and teaching at local high schools.

Guests will enjoy a coffee-house atmosphere and dancing afterward.

Admission is $5 per person. Performing poets attend for free. For more information call (501) 372-4000 or visit www.arkarts.com.