Look and Listen

Biography

North Carolina native Cherryl Floyd-Miller is the author of three collections of poetry. Her first, Utterance: A Museology of Kin was a semi-finalist for the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry and a finalist for the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize. Her second collection, CHOPS, won a 2005 AIGA Gold SEED Award and is housed in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. Floyd-Miller's third collection is forthcoming in August 2008 from Salt Publishing. Her stage plays have been produced in the South and the Midwest. Also a fiber artist, she often incorporates excerpts of her poems into her art quilts. LINKS: http://www.lulu.com/content/599364 http://www.lulu.com/content/892584 http://cherrylfloyd-miller.blogspot.com

Inspiration

PEOPLE: John Coltrane. Gregory O. Hines. Lizz Wright. Dianne Reeves. Thylias Moss. Cassandra Wilson. Faith Ringgold. Michael Cunningham. Jeffrey Osborne. Rumi. Lucille Clifton. Sonia Sanchez. Leon Thomas. George Duke. Cornelius Eady. Marilyn Chin. Frank X. Walker. PLACES: Bodies of water ... like tears, the internal landscape of the body, the Chattahoochee River. Sweetwater Lake. Lake Gaston. The City of Atlanta. Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Montreal, Canada. Savannah, Ga. The Gullah/Sea Island Coast. Idyllwild, California. New York. Safe arms. Dangerous smiles. Uninhibited minds. THINGS: Crushed ice. Belly laughs. Turtles. The Dragonfly. Butterflies. A chocolate molten dessert. Succulent houseplants. The small sting of hot wax. Fresh smells. Contrasting textures. Toe rings. The sound of new book pages. Sundays. Cotton. Red velvet cake. Non-altered fresh spring water. Beginnings. Sexy winds that flare nostrils and threaten to lift your skirt.