Join us for this month’s Lunchbox Lecture featuring Jewel Rodgers, Nebraska State Poet 2025–2029!
During her keynote, Jewel reflects on her journey as a self-described spoken word artist stepping into a traditionally page-centered literary role. Through performance and storytelling, she explores the cultural roots of spoken word, its historical ties to jazz and artistic movements, and the skepticism it sometimes encounters in academic poetry spaces. Blending poems with personal narrative, she demonstrates how spoken word serves as a powerful tool for both artistic excellence and community-building.
Event admission is free. LNKTV will record the lecture and make it available to the public.
Special thanks to the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation for providing funding for this event series and the recording to broadcast on LNKTV.
About Jewel Rodgers
Rodgers is the 2025–2029 Nebraska State Poet—the first African American and youngest person appointed to the role. A 2025 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship recipient, an Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award winner for Best Performance Poet, and a three-time TEDx speaker, she has toured nationally for over a decade, performing in schools, festivals, conferences, and public spaces. An interdisciplinary performer and spatial practitioner, Jewel merges poetry, storytelling, and placemaking to inspire communities across Nebraska and beyond.
