Poetry pop-up event to generate buzz for 1st Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books

For Danielle Obisie-Orlu, words are life.

“They’re what people use to create, to destroy and to connect,” said Obisie-Orlu, 20, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh who is the City of Asylum Allegheny County Poet Laureate for 2021-2022. “If you know how to form them and use them, you have the key to succeed in life.”

Obisie-Orlu, who was born in Maryland and grew up in South Africa, said her parents stressed the importance of reading early in her life.

“Our study was full of books,” she said. “From the youngest of ages, it was ‘Read first. Know how to read and understand words.’”

Obisie-Orlu will look to inspire a similar love of books in others when she performs a poetry reading Saturday at “A Taste of the Festival,” a special program that will serve as a preview of sorts for the initial Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books, scheduled for May 14 in Bakery Square in the city’s East End.

Festival organizers have been hosting “pop-up” events such as Saturday’s in advance of the May festival.

The theme of the festival, “Pittsburgh Through the Pages,” will highlight authors who are either from Pittsburgh or who have written about Pittsburgh.

“Many authors have already committed to participating in the festival, and we plan to make it a day filled with fun and education,” said Marshall Cohen, festival founder and co-chair.

Saturday’s event will take place at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in East Liberty. It will feature Obisie-Orlu’s poetry along with artist and BOOM Concepts co-founder D.S. Kinsel discussing “Black Power Storytime” and Heinz History Center staff member Brian Butko talking about his most recent book, “Isaly’s Chipped Ham, Klondikes and Other Tales from Behind the Counter.”

Obisie-Orlu said that she had gotten away from both poetry and reading for pleasure as she began her academic studies at Pitt. Becoming poet laureate has helped reignite that passion.

“I used to go through four books a week in high school,” she said. “I didn’t realize that I needed to get back into art, and how much it fed my soul to be in a space where I can create and use my words as a force for connection.”

Organizers hope Saturday’s event and the festival in May can ignite that same passion in other young people.

For more information, go to PittsburghBookFestival.org.