by Jisu Sheen The New Haven independent
Shamain McAllister, always ready. Behind her, Jasmine Nikole’s painting “The Dancing Children.”
Gardin and New Haven Poet Laureate Yexandra Diaz. Behind, Frank E. Brady takes the mic.
Awardees: Marilyn Nelson, Nzima Hutchings, Sharmont Little, Tochi Onyebuchi
Luminary Soirée
Kulturally Lit
Shubert Theater
New Haven
Nov. 16
Shamain McAllister was filming her friend Zanaiya Leon on stage at Black literary arts nonprofit Kulturally Lit’s Luminary Soirée awards ceremony Sunday night when she noticed Leon’s words getting oddly specific.
In a “poetic turn of events,” Leon said, a certain longtime colleague who was responsible for bringing multiple people onto Kulturally Lit’s core team will now be getting her time to shine. That was enough to make heads and camera lenses swivel from the stage to the audience, zooming in on McAllister, who was just announced as the new director of arts, culture, and tourism for the City of New Haven.
Kulturally Lit was giving out four awards at the Shubert Theatre that night: The Trailblazer Firestarter Award, the Literary Cultivator Award, the Cultural Steward Award, and the Literary Legend Award. Alisha Crutchfield from Westville boutique BLOOM supplied flowers for the awardees, and artist Jasmine Nikole donated an original painting for auction. McAllister might not have been on the awards list, but her new position was plenty cause for celebration. It was also a moment of change.
In taking up the helm of her new heavy-duty job, McAllister is leaving her role as managing director of Kulturally Lit. And with previous arts director Adriane Jefferson now working as the cultural affairs director of Atlanta, there was an awareness in the room of just how many opportunities would now open up for McAllister as she writes the next chapters of her story.
For the time being, McAllister stayed firmly in her spot, looking down as she accepted the standing ovation from the crowd around her. Only at Kulturally Lit founder IfeMichelle Gardin’s urging did she make her way to the stage, thanking attendees with her signature even-keeled grace and down-to-earth sense of humor.
“This is the second time Z done tricked me,” she began. McAllister might not have had a speech ready, but she didn’t need one. She recapped the last five years of Kulturally Lit with ease, recalling Gardin saying, “We gotta get a poet laureate” in this city—now, New Haven has appointed two, both of whom were celebrated that very night. It was a visible example of the dreams the team has brought to life together.
“I’ve never been fired before,” McAllister said, noting what an honor it was to be fired under these circumstances. The crowd laughed.
“Everybody gotta move on,” Gardin had said in her introduction of McAllister, expressing the bittersweetness in letting go of her colleague’s beloved presence within Kulturally Lit while understanding her duty to push her out of the nest.
It was a push echoed in awardees’ speeches throughout the night.
Juanita Sunday, left, to Tochi Onyebuchi, center: thank you for “expanding the Blerd universe.”
Aidan Jordan, AKA Not Your Average Violinist
New Haven Poet Laureate emeritus Sharmont “Influence” Little, winner of the Cultural Steward Award “honoring a local leader whose work impacts and uplifts the literary arts community,” told the crowd about a conversation he had with Gardin in which she nudged him to write a book of poetry.
He had told her he wasn’t sure if he was good enough, accomplished enough, or ready. And in “true auntie fashion…I can’t use everything she said,” he stopped himself, the crowd erupting in knowing laughter. In short, Gardin had told him he was more than ready.
As his nickname foreshadowed, Influence’s pursuit of his goals then inspired the people around him. When Yexandra Diaz came on stage to perform a piece as the new Poet Laureate of New Haven, she credited Little and awardee Nzima Hutchings for sparking her interest in art as a possible career. “I did not realize how impactful the arts were,” she said.
“I’m just filled with happy,” Hutchings said when she accepted the Literary Cultivator Award “honoring a writer for nurturing literary growth and fostering creativity through literature.” She is a poet herself, serving as the Poet Laureate of Enfield. “This whole thing is poetic to me,” she said of the awards ceremony.
Speculative fiction author Tochi Onyebuchi, accepting the Literary Legend Award “honoring a Giant in the literary world who has made significant contributions to the global community,” said that while “the universe can feel so so very big,” our impact is “within arm’s reach.” He thanked the local community for claiming him.
2001-2006 Connecticut Poet Laureate Marilyn Nelson, accepting the Trailblazer Firestarter Award “honoring a CT author who has blazed a trail in the literary community,” urged attendees to “be an artist against the odds.”
“We will continue to be here, as we have continued to be here for many decades,” she said.
There was a reason each awardee’s words came across so heartfelt and real. “We do not tell the artists what to say,” Gardin explained. “We welcome the presentation of the gift.”
McAllister left the crowd with a parting gift of her own. “Thank you all for coming to my last day of work,” she said before leaving the stage.
It was a joke that clued us into her style of work: staying at eye level with artists in the community, letting us be part of the process, and never missing chance to give a loving nod to the collaborators who have shaped her journey.