Maurice Norman | Photo by Alvin C. Jacobs Jr./ASC screenshot

Sept. 17. “Don’t Lose Heart,” a multi-faceted storytelling production that features a personal story interwoven with Smithville stories will take place at the Cain Center for the Arts at 7 pm on Nov. 2.

Storyteller Maurice J. Norman, who will be accompanied by a live quintet from the Charlotte Strings Collective, focuses on the individuals who are ever-present but often overlooked until they’re gone.

The 25-year-old uses poetry, digital media and music to unearth and amplify untold stories about Black communities in Mecklenburg, including Smithville, which dates back to 1910.

According to the Arts & Sciences Council, which provided more than $12,000 to the project, Smithville is the largest intact historical Black community in Mecklenburg.

Norman interviewed residents and turned their responses into poems, intertwining their stories with his own as part of the production.

The people we’ve deemed the furniture of our small towns, perched in their rocking chairs or tending to their tulips. The walking time machines and living memory keepers, who have helped weave the social fabrics of our local communities.

Norman is an emerging poet and Davidson College alum with international recognition, having won a national poetry championship in Sydney, Australia.

Details

“Don’t Lose Heart” runs for 75 minutes, including an intermission.

Tickets are $20. To order, click here.