National Poetry Month: Remembering Daniel Thompson A Raucous Outdoor Concert Event for Friends, Strangers and Saxophone By Drumplay with Maj Ragain, Bill Kennedy, Ray McNiece, and Ernie Krivda

On the eve of the eve of what would have been Daniel Thompson’s seventy-eighth birthday, poets and percussionists will gather to celebrate his defiant spirit, making a joyful noise on the Library's Front Porch. The late poet laureate of Cleveland was a founding member of Drumplay and he has never left their circle. His words still resonate through Afro-Cuban rhythms and Middle Eastern motifs, sometimes driving the beat and sometimes being carried away. Thompson was a larger-than-life character. He fought and wrote for the homeless, the helpless and the disenfranchised. He had a wicked sense of humor and an anti-authority streak a mile wide. The world-famous jazz saxophonist Ernie Krivda, inspired by Thompson's devotion to just plain folks, was a frequent collaborator too. He will join poets Maj Ragain, Bill Kennedy and Ray McNiece and in an effort to reimagine those legendary Drumplay concerts and spread Thompson's words through the city streets—right where they belong.