2026 Toni Morrison Celebration

February 18th is Toni Morrison Day in Ohio. Join us in celebrating the life, words, and legacy of the iconic Toni Morrison with readings from local authors and artists Cynthia Amoah, Dr. Carlotta Penn, Claudia Owusu, and Rachael “Rae” Scott. Readings will take place from 1:30-4:45 PM in the BPL Auditorium. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided by the library.

Reading Lineup:

• 1:30 – 2:15 – Rachael “Rae” Scott
• 2:20 – 3:05 – Carlotta Penn
• 3:10 – 3:55 – Claudia Owusu
• 4:00 – 4:45 – Cynthia Amoah

About the Readers:

Dr. Carlotta Penn is an educator, author, and daydreamer committed to advancing social justice, especially as it relates to educational access, experiences, and outcomes. She makes the case that Black children must see their cultures reflected in books, and that we must make more space for Black authors to write these stories. Despite the ongoing resistance of major publishers to fully embrace Black children’s books by Black authors, independent Black authors are filling the void. She is also the founder of Daydreamers Press, a small, Black woman-owned business with a focus on curating books, media, and related programming, especially for children. It is her contribution to a world where all people can see representative and inspiring reflections of themselves in books and communities.

Claudia Owusu is a Ghana girl through and through. As a writer and filmmaker, her work divulges the nuance of Black girlhood through a personal and collective lens. Her writing is featured or is forthcoming in Prairie Schooner, The Offing Mag, Chestnut Review, Ninth Letter, Bellingham Review, and elsewhere. Her films have screened internationally at Aesthetica, the New York African Film Festival, Urbanworld, and Blackstar Fest. She is the author of the chapbook, In These Bones I am Shifting from Akashic Books. She holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The Ohio State University.

Cynthia Amoah is a Ghanaian-American poet, national speaker, and teaching artist. She received her MFA from The New School where she was cited for Excellence in Poetry and has been featured on three TEDx stages, The Lincoln Theatre, as well as the United Nations Information Center in Accra, among many others. Her writing and performances often concern the foraging questions that have to do with identity and belonging, with displacement, migration and uprootedness. Cynthia’s chapbook Handrails was published by Akashic Books in Fall 2021. Cynthia Amoah was also the inaugural Writer-in-Residence at the Bexley Public Library in 2025, where she led community writing workshops, open mic readings, and connected aspiring writers to resources around Columbus.

Rachael “Rae” Scott is a poet who has been writing poetry since she was a teenager. Scott has performed her poems at celebrated open mic events around Columbus, like the Writers’ Block Poetry Mic (RIP), the Rhapsody & Refrain series, Harlem Renaissance Remix, and other events at Streetlight Guild. She is a member of the From Spark to Fire writing cohort and is currently at work finishing her first collection of poems under the working title I Made My Plate First.