RICHMOND VIRGINA'S INAUGURAL POET LAUREATE
DOUGLAS POWELL
/ROSCOE BURNEMS
BIO
Two names. Many talents. One amazing experience! Richmond Virginia native, Douglas Powell, artistically known as, Roscoe Burnems is a spoken-word artist, poetry slam champion, comedian, published author, educator, father, and Richmond, VA's inaugural poet laureate. He has dedicated his craft to entertaining and educating. Roscoe uses his platform to be transparent and transformative. Using vulnerability as a superpower, he weaves through storytelling and metaphor seamlessy guiding audiences through a range of emotions, but always ending with empowerment, love, and resilience. Douglas' mission as an artist has been to normalize conversations around mental health and its taboo nature in communities of color and men, while also discussing the effects of race, relationships, education, and access in trauma and depression, using his own journey as an example. His work, a mix of humor and thought-provoking poetry, is often described as refreshing and disarming. You can them find him covering these topics and more on Amazon Prime and other platforms in his film "Traumedy", the first ever poetry and comedy special.
TEDx "REWRITING MASCULINITY"
Some people find therapy on a couch; Douglas Powell, also known as Roscoe Burnems, finds it on a stage as well. In this powerful talk, we hear from both Douglas the father and educator and Roscoe the spoken-word poet and writer, as he takes us through an extraordinary exploration of toxic masculinity, depression and the weight carried by black boys and men.
