Pop-up: Jae Nichelle

Jae Nichelle reads from her new poetry collection Grownfolk Blues: a musical in poems at Portland Art Museum in the Northwest Art gallery (Level 4, Room 402), paired with Sharita Towne, For Us.

Followed by book signing at The Shop at PAM.

About Grownfolk Blues:

Winner of the 2026 Joe W. Bratcher Prize

Grownfolk Blues: a musical in poems is a powerful cross-genre experiment by the inimitable poet, performer and screenwriter Jae Nichelle, blending narrative verse with musical theater in a dynamic score that transcends the traditional bounds of a poetry collection. Inspired by the queer Southern blues artists of the 1920s and 30s, the narrative follows a character named You, a queer Black woman who is frequently crushed beneath the weight of societal demands. You struggles against the pains of coming into adulthood, of finding love and meaning in life. 

Publishing a century after the peak of popularity of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and the other queer, Black artists who inspired this work, Grownfolk Blues tackles the persistently relevant themes of those musical greats—balancing and thwarting trivial societal expectations, struggling to make a living, finding moments of levity in times of great pain. Playful yet deadly serious as it sings, backsteps, and levitates with the sonic power and the poignant rhythm of the blues, this collection transgresses genre. Familiar narratives around love and heartbreak are transformed by Nichelle’s deft  formal invention.

Grownfolk Blues contributes to an ongoing dialogue on the power of creative expression in challenging oppressive systems, providing readers with room to reflect on their own ability to resist seemingly immovable constraints. Highlighting beautifully the difficulty of what we must endure, Nichelle offers one woman’s journey toward finding love and acceptance, in dazzling librettos that dance and reach toward us across the page.